Gluten Free Pizza with Heirloom Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Mushrooms, Truffle Oil, and Basil
Pizza senza glutine con pomodori heirloom, mozzarella, olio di tartufo, e basilico
Home Grown Vegetables Make the Perfect Pizza Toppings
This spring, I began a project of growing my own vegetables in an elevated garden bed and a couple of window boxes. After a winter cooped up inside, I wanted to turn my deck into a flowering oasis. Some of the vegetables in my garden bed are having a harder time than others (RIP my summer squash), but I'm quite pleased that my tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers are all doing well so far.
One of my favorite parts of the day has been coming home from work to take a look to see what progress my plants have during the day. Take a look at these guys!
I plan to pick the zucchini flowers, stuff them with ricotta, and fry them up. I've never tried this myself before but have eaten this dish many times in Italy. I hope I do it justice.
The pizza recipe below will be perfect to make with my heirloom tomatoes, and I can't wait to taste them when they are ready for picking. There is such a difference in taste between grocery store tomatoes and ones produced and harvested locally. While my tomatoes won't be ready for a bit, I have been buying them at the farmers market in the meantime. Let me know if you try this recipe!
La Ricetta - The Recipe
For the pizza dough, please refer to this recipe for gluten free pizza with ricotta, fig jam, prosciutto, sautéed onions, goat cheese & rosemary.
I condimenti della pizza - The pizza toppings
Everyone likes different amounts of toppings on their pizza, so for the ingredients below, I am not listing amounts or measurements so that each individual can customize it how they would like :)
mozzarella - mozzarella
funghi - mushrooms
olio di tartufo - truffle oil
pomodori heirloom - heirloom tomatoes
basilico - basil
sale - salt
pepe - pepper
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 425°.
Step 2. Thinly slice the mushrooms and soak them in about two tablespoons of the truffle oil. Let this sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients (about ten minutes). This step is key because I often find that the truffle flavor evaporates in the over during cooking. Marinating the mushrooms for a bit prior to cooking helps the flavor stick.
Step 3. Slice the mozzarella and tomatoes and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Wash and dry the basil.
Step 4. Arrange the cheese, tomatoes, and mushrooms on the pizza dough, using however much or little of each topping you desire. Drizzle a bit of the truffle oil on top of the pizza.
Step 5. Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until the crust begins to brown along the edges.
Step 7. Take the pizza out and arrange basil leaves on the hot pizza.
Step 8. Slice and enjoy!
Buon appetito!
