WHITE PIZZA WITH PARSLEY PESTO DRIZZLE
Summer is the time for lighter, fresher, brighter pizza. In the last week, I splurged on fresh mozzarella to make this Kale Pesto Pasta recipe to ensure that the remaining cheese wasn’t wasted. My first idea would be Margherita pizza. But I decided to try something a bit different. Instead of topping the basic white pie with thin strips of fresh basil, I prepared a small amount of zingy pesto made from parsley and drizzled it on top of the pizza after it had cooked. OMMMGGGG. It’s the best thing you’ve ever done.
INGREDIENTS
GARLIC OIL
1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic ($0.02)
PARSLEY PESTO
Fresh parsley leaves 1 cup chopped ($0.50)
One clove of garlic, minced or crushed ($0.08)
1 Tbsp of grated Parmesan ($0.10)
1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Pepper freshly cracked ($0.05)
Pinch red pepper flake (optional) ($0.02)
1.5 2 tablespoons citrus juice ($0.07)
3 Tbsp olive oil ($0.39)
PIZZA
1 14-16” pizza dough ($0.60)
Four oz. fresh mozzarella ($2.00)
2 Roma tomatoes ($0.50)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a small dish or bowl in a word, mix 1 Tbsp olive oil and garlic powder. Allow the mix to remain in the fridge and infuse while you make the other ingredients.
To make the pesto with parsley, finely chopped 1 cup of fresh leaves (about 1/2 cup once chopped). Mix the minced garlic with grated Parmesan salt pepper and red pepper flakes. Add the juice of a lemandith olive oil mix in small amounts, beginning with 1 Tbsp lemon juice and two tablespoons olive oil, and then add more as needed to make loose paste pizza. I utilized 1.5 Tbsp lemon and 3 Tbsp oil in total. However, this will vary based on the amount of chopped parsley. Put the pesto made with parsley aside.
Set the oven’s rack in the highest position and start heating the oven until it is at 500oF. Cut the tomatoes into thin slices as well as fresh mozzarella.
Roll or stretch your pizza dough into a 14-16” diameter. Put it on the pizza pan or baking sheet*. Mix the garlic and oil before applying a thin layer of the dough’s entire surface, including the crust.
Place slices of tomato evenly on the pizza dough, then add torn slices of mozzarella.
The pizza is baked in the preheated oven at 500oF for about 10 minutes or until the crust’s outer layer is golden and the cheese has melted but not brown. After taking the pizza out of the oven, spread the pesto made with parsley on the top, cut into eight pieces, then serve.
