shitake, radicchio and taleggio pizza

This week has been brutally cold and windy. Which makes me sad, very sad. Winter has been great — it brought the biggest cheese ever — yet I’m ready for it to be over. I reach this point every January, after the holidays have gone, and there is no lingering celebrations with family or friends trying to drag out the merriment for as long as possible, and the point has been reached today. I’m done. There is nothing left to look forward to in the remaining winter weeks, except my four year anniversary — and really the husband and I have discussed picking a totally random day, like May 19th or October 8th or another day where it is not hard to come by a dinner reservation, or enjoy one anothers company in the middle of a crowd as we just had to pick, ahem, I had to pick the day of hearts and roses to get hitched.

Spring is now in the forefront of my mind, a time that will bring actually ripe fruits and vegetables instead of the hot house and imported varieties from other countries. But with spring comes color, flower buds that eventually turn vibrant yellow, or tiny green sprouts of grass that shoot up into a thick carpet. And the sun, it melts the gray filled days of a dead and unappealing winter away.

This pizza, in my mind is dedicated to spring (and to help my chocolate chip hang over). Though nothing particularly spring-like about it as it’s a pretty non-seasonal dish, it is full of color, something my front yard is lacking, full of flavor or I should say bigger and better flavor than the boring collards and squashes that fill the market and it’s a reason to get out of the house, which is also starting to get a cage-y feel, despite my inner-need to hibernate until April. Plus I need to find a pony stat.

One Year Ago: Cauliflower Goat Cheese Gratin

Shitake, Radicchio, and Taleggio Pizza
Adapted from Cathy Whims

Makes 2 8-inch-ish sized pizzas

Pizza Dough:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
6 tablespoons slightly warm water
3 tablespoons white wine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Toppings:
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 pound shitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves, divided
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
Juice from half a medium lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small head radicchio, outer leaves discarded and thinly sliced into ribbons
1 large leek, cleaned, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 pound Taleggio, rind removed and discarded and cheese sliced thinly

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together yeast, honey and water until yeast has dissolved. Add wine, oil and salt and give a quick stir. Add flour and using the dough hook turn the mixer on slow and mix until dough forms a ball. Dough should not be wet or sticky. If dough is too sticky add a tablespoon of flour at a time until ball forms. Likewise, if dough is too dry, add a tablespoon of water until dough forms a ball. Once a ball has been formed, turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two. Coat the mixing bowl with oil and place dough inside bowl, turning the dough until it is coated with oil as well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for an hour or two.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees with an oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Once dough has risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until no longer sticky or wet. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Place two balls in an air tight container and set aside for another use*. Roll the remaining two balls into 8-inch wide disks.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of oil and cook mushrooms, half of the garlic and half of the thyme until the mushrooms have given off their liquid and have started to brown, about 7 – 10 minutes. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the hot skillet. Add the last half of garlic and cook until the garlic starts to turn golden brown, about 30 seconds. Add the radicchio, leeks, and remaining thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the leeks are soft and the radicchio has begun to wilt, about 5 – 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

Place one of the rounds on a floured pizza peel or pan. Place half of the Taleggio on the round. Scatter half of the mushrooms and half of the radicchio-leek mixture evenly over the pizza, slide onto the preheated stone and bake until crisp and golden, about 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with the second half of pizza dough. Serve hot.

* If you prefer a thicker pizza crust then divide dough in half and roll each half out into an 8-inch-wide disk. If you prefer thin and crispy crust, divide dough into quarters and use two quarters, saving the other two for later use.