This recipe was initially developed last year as we tried to come up with pizza ideas that did not require huge amounts of cheese and utilized some of the beautiful vegetables from our farm share. The heavy black pepper makes for a pleasant spiciness but restricts it’s usage a bit more – I would designate this pizza for the older child or adult pallet. While not difficult, people are always impressed with this dish and it makes a great impression at a party. No one needs to know it is so healthy!

The NUTS and BOLTS

• Pre-made super thin wheat pizza crust
• 1 Med. Yellow or Red Onion
• 5 Lg. White Button Mushrooms
• 10-20 Grape Tomatoes, squished
• 2 oz Goat Cheese
• Dried Rosemary
• Dried Oregano
• Granulated Garlic
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Fresh Basil Chiffonade or Pistou Basil
• Sweet White Wine
• Balsamic Vinegar (preferably well aged)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tsp Butter or Margarine

WHAT TO DO WITH IT ALL

My first step was to slice the onions. The goal here is to make super-skinny long strips, so the onion needs to be cut in half lengthwise, then lain on the flat side and sliced 1/8″ thick.

Place your butter in a non-stick skillet over low heat. Once it melts and begins to sizzle, add the sliced onions and stir to coat in the butter. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Also, shake on some oregano, garlic, rosemary and pepper. I don’t measure my seasonings all of the time, so I took a photograph for you to compare.

Allow the onions to cook slowly over low heat and stir occasionally so they don’t burn. When they are translucent and starting to dry out, add 2 Tbsp sweet white wine to skillet and cook until absorbed. Add a long drizzle (two times around the pan) of aged balsamic to finish. Turn up the heat to medium and stir constantly until lightly browned and remove from heat.

Now you can clean and slice your mushrooms. I remove the stems with a quick twist and discard them. I think it makes for a prettier presentation as there will be no cheese to cover up inconsistencies in the slices.

The Mushrooms will placed raw onto the pizza so they need to be quite thin in order to cook in the oven. As you can see here, I sliced mine only about 1/8″ thick. If you turn them flat side down and you’ll be able to have much more control while you make your cuts.

If you have your own monkeys wash their hands at this point, (and you don’t mind a bit of mess) they can jump in to squish those grape tomatoes. I used 10 on my test pizza, but I think it could handle as many as you want. I will probably double the number the next time I prepare this dish. Another thing I will try is to roast them before placing them on the pizza. To do this, place squished tomatoes on a pan covered in foil, salt and pepper them, and broil for a couple of minutes until browned and delicious. I think this concentrated flavor would really add an extra pop to the pizza.

Put your pre-made crust on a baking sheet or pan and spread approximately 2 Tbsp Olive Oil over the crust with a basting brush. Sprinkle all seasonings directly onto oiled crust to taste, Salt, Rosemary, Oregano, Garlic and Cracked or Fresh Ground Pepper. Spread out your fresh basil and layer your other ingredients as you wish. TIP: The goat cheese is much easier to work with if you break it up before you attempt to scatter it on the pizza. We found that stirring it roughly with a butter knife was most effective at breaking it up into small chunks. Once all your ingredients are in place, salt and pepper the whole thing again.

Bake on the middle rack for about 15 minutes – until all the mushrooms are cooked and the goat cheese has slightly browned on the edges.

Slice and enjoy! I know we can’t get enough!

MONKEY METER

The eldest said that it was a touch spicy, but kept eating it and just drank milk. She LOVED the goat cheese. 4 of 5

All the grown-ups loved it and thought it was very fancy. Everyone said I could make it for them anytime. Glad they liked it!  5 of 5