Pizza With Parsley Pesto Cremini Mushrooms Fontina And Goat Cheese Recipes

GRILLED FRENCH BREAD PIZZA WITH MUSHROOM PESTO AND FONTINA CHEESE

Steps:

• Place the porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until softened, 30 minutes.
• Heat the grill to high.
• Brush the cremini or white button mushroom caps with the canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms on the grill, cap side down and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the caps over and continue grilling until the mushrooms are cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from the grill, let cool slightly then coarsely chop.
• Remove the porcinis from the soaking liquid and place in the bowl of a food processor with a few tablespoons of the soaking liquid. Add cremini mushrooms, garlic pulp, walnuts, parsley and thyme in a food processor and process until finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly add 1/2 cup of the olive oil and process until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the Romano cheese and pulse a few times to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.
• Brush the bread on the cut side with the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Evenly spread the pesto over the cut side of each half of bread. Top the pesto with the fontina cheese, return to the grill, cheese side up, close the cover of the grill and cook until the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the grill and sprinkle with the remaining Romano.

PESTO-GOAT CHEESE PINWHEELS

Steps:

• Spread the tortilla with the goat cheese and pesto. Roll up and slice into pinwheels.

PIZZA WITH PARSLEY PESTO, CREMINI MUSHROOMS, FONTINA AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• For the parsley pesto: Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, pine nuts, basil, garlic, parsley and some salt and pepper to a food processor. With the motor running, slowly add about 1/2 cup olive oil and process until smooth. Pulse a few times to incorporate, adding more oil if the mixture is too thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
• For the mushrooms: Heat the canola oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add the mushrooms, garlic and shallots and saute until brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove to a plate and reserve.
• Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
• For the pizzas: Portion the dough into six golf-ball-size pieces. Dust a work surface with flour and roll each piece of dough into a rectangle (or whatever shape you like). Brush the tops of each piece with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss on the grill, oil-side down. Cook until the bottoms are an even golden brown, about 3 minutes. (The tops will also start bubbling up with air pockets.) Flip over and grill until golden brown on the other side and just firm, about a minute or so. Remove to a baking sheet.
• Top the pizzas with the fontina, mushrooms, Parmigiano-Reggiano, dollops of goat cheese, crushed red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Bake in the oven until the cheese is melted, 3 to 4 minutes. Top with the parsley pesto and garnish with a few more torn basil leaves.
• In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup warm water (if the water is too hot the yeast will die and if the water is too cold the yeast will not activate). Add the dry yeast and sugar, stir to combine and let sit for 15 minutes. The top of the water will bubble and it will smell very yeasty; this is what you want.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the olive oil and the yeast/water mixture. Using a fork, gradually stir the flour into the yeast/water mix. Once most of the flour has combined, turn the dough out to a smooth, clean work surface dusted with flour and use your hands to knead the dough to a smooth consistency.
• Lightly coat the mixing bowl with oil, return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
• When the dough is ready, portion it into six golf-ball-size pieces. (If you're not using the dough right away, wrap each ball individually in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use.) Dust a work surface with flour and roll each piece of dough into a rectangle (or whatever shape you like; I like irregular shapes). Top the pizzas as desired.