I am still enjoying the last bit of my extended Memorial Day weekend, but I borrowed a blogging machine so I could start sharing the recipes which we all enjoyed. On Friday night, I wanted a quick and easy meal to start the weekend. Pizza, of course! But this is no ordinary pizza, it was inspired by this Exotic Mushroom Pizza recipe, and contains two different kinds of mushrooms, two different kinds of cheese, and red wine. To balance out the rich pizza we served it with a simple green salad.
The mixture of onions, mushrooms, and red wine in the pizza filling was delicious, and we loved the melted Gorgonzola underneath the mushrooms and melted cheddar on top. Unfortunately, I spread the dough fairly thin, and the crust in the center of the pizza was overwhelmed and a bit soggy. It still tasted great (eaten with a knife and fork) but I would leave the dough thicker next time. It was fun to try a variety of fancier mushrooms, but for an everyday meal I think regular button mushrooms would be fine. Just don’t skip the wine….
1 lb. Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough
1 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1 shallot, sliced thinly
1 red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1/4 c. red wine
1/2 c. crumbled Gorgonzola
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Saute garlic and shallots for 1 minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add sliced onions and saute for 5-10 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add wine and saute until evaporated, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and season the mixture with salt and pepper.
Spread dough onto a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle Gorgonzola on dough, and then spread mushroom mixture evenly. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the pizza. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
Note: The original recipe recommended that the shiitake stems be removed and discarded. This seemed wasteful, and some quick Googling revealed that the stems are often quite tough and woody, but are not dangerous to eat. So I chopped the stems a bit smaller and threw them in. We noticed that some pieces of mushroom in the filling were firmer, but it did not detract at all from the meal.
Recipes that Fit 