Pizza is one of the easiest meals you can make at home. I most always prefer to make my own crust but nothing wrong with a purchased one or some focaccia bread pizza crust. Once that crust part has been taken care of, its really just a matter of topping the pie with all your favorite ingredients and waiting for it to come out of the oven.
But of course, there are a number of things that can go wrong even so. You might think that there’s no such thing as too much cheese …. but there is. Cheese normally means a lot of grease, your pizza could fall apart under the weight of all that dairy.
Too many toppings can cause overly cooked crust or under-cooked toppings. Another thing I find super important, is making sure the toppings are sauteed so they are not releasing too much moisture into the crust.
Since Brion & I are both lovers of marinated artichokes, putting them on a pizza sounds real good. Artichokes are technically the flower buds of a thistle plant that hasn’t blossomed yet. Its kind of amazing to think we can enjoy these odd little culinary treats in so many ways.
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WEDGES
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- 2/3 cup (170 gm) potato, cooked, mashed & cooled
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp butter, softened
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 cups flour
- 150 grams chicken breast, cut in strips
- 2-170 ml marinated artichoke hearts, drained
- 200 grams fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1/4 or 70 grams onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp butter,
- 200 grams 100% mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/4 tsp EACH dried oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder & black pepper
- dash of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 30 grams (6 pieces) sun-dried tomato, chopped
- 1/3 cup black olives, drained & sliced
- 1/2 cup purchased Marinara sauce
Ingredients
Pizza Toppings
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- Cook potato, peel, mash & cool. Combine yeast with lukewarm water; whisk until yeast is dissolved. Let stand about 3 minutes until foamy. Add butter, salt, sour cream & potato, mix well.
- Stir in flour, one cup at a time. When dough is completely blended, turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough about 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Slice chicken into strips, saute in some drained artichoke marinade until most of it evaporates. Set aside.
- Saute mushrooms & onions in a teaspoon of butter until moisture evaporates. Set aside.
- Shred cheese. In a small dish combine spices.
- Drain sun-dried tomatoes & black olives, blot on paper towel & slice tomatoes.
- Cut each piece of (drained) artichoke in half.
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- On a large sheet of parchment paper, roll or press dough into a 16-inch circle. Transfer on paper to a baking sheet.
- Carefully spread the 1/2 cup marinara sauce over the bottom of pizza. Season with spice mixture. Sprinkle with a bit of cheese then layer with mushrooms, onion, chicken, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives & remaining cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven & slice. If you prefer, brush the top of the outside (dough) ring with artichoke marinade either before or after baking.
- If you like, press pizza dough into a 16 X 12-inch rectangle instead of a circular shape.