This is my new favorite pizza. And it's amazing. If you like pepperoni pizza, this is a modern twist on that. Instead of pepperoni slices, I'm using 'nduja, that incredible spicy prosciutto spread that I wrote about in this post. Instead of mozzarella cheese, I'm using tangy goat cheese. Instead of tomato sauce, I'm using this intense sun-dried tomato spread that is my new favorite thing. I'm going to talk about the ingredients specifically below, because the ingredients really matter in this one.
I've been using sun-dried tomatoes from a company called California Sun-Dry for years. It's my favorite brand of sun dried tomatoes. I buy the julienned kind and make this no-cook pasta sauce with it. My local Kroger store actually carries these tomatoes in their produce department so I'm able to buy them easily. They recently started carrying this tomato spread from the same company. I started using it on crackers and crostini and I loved it so much that I thought it might be great on pizza. If you can buy this particular brand, do it.
The other important brand is the La Quercia 'nduja. This spicy spread is absolutely delicious and I stir it into pasta sauces. I've tried other brands of 'nduja and this is by far my favorite. Whole Foods carries this in their cheese department, so most of you should be able to find it. If you can't, you can buy it from Amazon or Zingerman's.
I made this pizza a little differently than I usually do - I prebaked the crust for a few minutes before adding the toppings. I spread the dough with a little olive oil and baked it in the oven for 4 minutes and then added the toppings and finished it off for another few minutes. I really like the texture of the pizza this way.
Use baking parchment to slide the pizza into the oven. It's far less messy than using cornmeal or flour and you can actually reuse the baking parchment.
Pizza with 'Nduja, Sun-Dried Tomato Spread & Goat Cheese
for a printable recipe, click here
you will need a baking stone and baking parchment paper for this recipe
makes 1 large pizza
7 ounces pizza dough
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 ounces goat cheese, softened
1/3 cup California Sun-Dried Tomato Spread
2 tablespoons La Quercia 'Nduja
freshly cracked black pepper
Pizza dough gets a light layer of olive oil and then is baked
The goat cheese is spread on the crust
and then the sun-dried tomato spread is layered on
and then dollops of 'nduja are placed. Then back in the oven.
The finished pizza:
Preheat oven to the highest setting your oven will go and place the baking stone in the lower third of the oven.
Roll out pizza dough very thinly. Brush with the olive oil. Place a piece of baking parchment on a pizza peel or just on the back of a baking sheet (anything that will allow the pizza to slide off easily). Place the pizza dough on the parchment and slide it off onto the baking stone, along with the parchment paper. Bake for about 4 minutes, until the dough is set and it is starting to turn golden brown a little.
Remove the pizza dough from the oven. Spread the goat cheese on it, followed by the sun-dried tomato spread. Place dollops of the 'nduja all over the pizza. Grind black pepper all over the top. Return to the oven and continue to cook for about 3 - 4 more minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is crispy. Remove the pizza with a wide spatula (I use this fish spatula for pizzas) and slice and serve.
