White Pizza

It probably won’t surprise anyone to know that one of my favorite activities is watching Food Network. Especially on weekend mornings when they have people on there who are actually cooking. Recently I’ve been watching the 5-Ingredient show with Claire Robinson. She does some amazing things with just five ingredients.

So, a couple of weeks ago I watched her make a “white pizza.” A white pizza is, aptly enough, a pizza with no tomato sauce. Her pizza consisted of a purchased dough (ingredient 1), garlic-flavored olive oil (ingredient 2), mozzarella cheese (ingredient 3), ricotta cheese (ingredient 4) and oregano (ingredient 5). The finished pie looked absolutely beautiful. But, as I tend to do, I thought maybe I could improve it with a few additional ingredients.

I added some caramelized onions, fresh basil, dried Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and chives. It was really outstanding.

Because there are so few ingredients in this pizza, it really pays to use the best quality you can get. Especially the dough. For this time I purchased a dough from my local Publix. They have them right in the cold case in the bakery. I left it in the refrigerator overnight and then let it sit out for about an hour before I started baking. It was pretty good, but not great. Next time I’ll use my standard pizza dough recipe. It’s a really good one that cooks up crisp on the edges and has a great yeasty taste.

1 pizza dough
2 large onions, halved and sliced
2 tblsp. olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
Cooking spray
3 cups shredded mozzarella
3-4 large basil leaves, chopped or cut into chiffonade
1-2 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1 tblsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 – 3/4 cup ricotta
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
2-3 tblsp. fresh chives, chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and onions. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Cook until the onions are tender, brown and caramelized.

I don’t have a pizza stone or pizza peel, so I simply use a metal pizza pan. If you have a stone, please use it for this pizza! Coat a pizza pan with cooking spray. Place the prepared pizza dough in the pan. Drizzle dough generously with olive oil. Evenly distribute the mozzarella and caramelized onions over the dough. Add the basil, oregano and dried Italian seasoning. Drop the ricotta in tablespoonful-sized dollops evenly over the pizza. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes. Salt lightly with kosher or sea salt. Brush with additional olive oil around the edges of the pizza.

Bake 25-30 minutes at 400 or until golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh chives if desired.

Enjoy!

White Pizza

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

A very simple pizza with no tomato sauce - just crust, cheese, onions, and herbs

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Ingredients

• 1 pizza dough
• 2 large onions, halved and sliced
• 2 tblsp. olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• Cooking spray
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 3-4 large basil leaves, chopped or cut into chiffonade
• 1-2 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 tblsp. dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup ricotta
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 tblsp. fresh chives, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and onions. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Cook until onions are tender, brown and caramelized.
3. Coat a pizza pan with cooking spray. Place the prepared pizza dough in the pan. Drizzle dough generously with olive oil.
4. Evenly distribute the mozzarella and caramelized onions over the dough. Add the basil, oregano and dried Italian seasoning. Drop the ricotta in tablespoonful-sized dollops evenly over the pizza. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes. Salt lightly with kosher or sea salt. Brush with additional olive oil around the edges of the pizza.
5. Bake 25-30 minutes at 400 or until golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh chives if desired.

Notes

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–Recipe inspired by Claire Robinson’s White Pizza
recipe on Food Network.