Pear Pizza with Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onions
Wow what a title. It’s been a while and thought I’d come back with some more tasty delicious vegetarian fare.
While at work I generally have one screen in some sort of adobe program and my other screen filled with delicious photos of food that I salivate over all day until I get home and in the kitchen. About a week ago I found this: http://saltbird.com/2009/11/pear-pizza-with-blue-cheese-and-caramelized-onions/
Immediately I tweeted “I think I’m in love” It wasn’t until tonight that I would actually find out how amazing this pizza really was. I know most peoples’ initial reaction would be “huh?, pear pizza no way that will be any good, sounds kind of like a disaster waiting to happen” You sir would be wrong. The tanginess of the blue cheese plays off the sweetness of the pear so beautifully. Another nice bit is that the pear still has a bit of crunch after coming out of the oven and is a nice contrast to the smoothy creamy cheeses that have wonderfully melted together. Drooling yet?
Anyways here’s the recipe from salt bird – all credit goes to the blogger. I substituted bosc pear for the asian pear and it was quite possibly the best pizza I’ve made at home yet.
Pear and blue cheese pizza
INGREDIENTS:
Crust: (modified from Mario Batali)
1/4 cup light red or white wine
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 ounces fresh yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups flour + extra for dusting the counter, etc.
Toppings:
1 package of shredded mozzarella
¼ cup of blue cheese
1 small yellow onion chopped
2 thinly sliced asian pears
olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic
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For the crust, combine warm water, two packets of instant yeast, and wine, until the yeast dissolves. Next, add honey, olive oil, and salt. Gradually add in flour a little at a time, using the spoon as long as possible and then your hands once it gets drier. This may take some muscle, but knead it for about 5 minutes. Place in a covered, oiled bowl for an hour to rise in a warm part of the kitchen.
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Braise the onions in a couple tablespoons of olive oil and water for about 20 minutes, until transparent and soft. Feel free to add more oil or water as needed. Once they are almost ready, add two cloves of pressed garlic and turn the heat up until you can smell the garlic smell – about 1-2 minutes.
Sprinkle a pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal or flour and knead the risen dough into a circle. Work from the inside moving outward to insure an even and delicate crust. Lightly brush the dough with olive oil and spread the onion and garlic mixure evenly. Layer on the pear slices next. First, sprinkle generously with mozzarella cheese and then sparingly with blue cheese, just a few crumbles here and there (or more, depending on how much you like blue cheese).
Throw it in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes at 500° F.
Results:
Hope you enjoy as much as I did!
