Recipe Of The Day: White Pizza With Mushrooms And Garlicky Greens

With coronavirus rates spiking nationwide, you might find yourself staying home more and going out to eat less. But there's still a way to blend together the lure of restaurants with the comfort of cooking at home. It all starts by getting more creative with your recipes. This white mushroom pizza tastes like something you'd find at one of the best pizza shops in America and is sure to get you through the cook at home funk. 

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Not only is pizza fun to make, but it's also a great way to use up leftovers. Have some extra peppers and onions in the fridge? Throw them on a pizza. This white pizza recipe calls for ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella, mushroom caps and garlic, but don't be afraid to get creative if you have some veggies lying around. 

The recipe takes less than an hour to make and is sure to be a weeknight dinner go-to, especially if you use premade pizza dough. But if you have a lot of time on your hands — and who doesn't these days? — you can make your own pizza dough from scratch.

Start by rolling two halves of pizza dough into balls. Cover the dough with a towel and let it come to room temperature. Once the mushrooms, greens and garlic are cooked, preheat the oven to 525 degrees. Oil a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, sprinkle with cornmeal and place the rolled out dough in the pan.

Brush the dough with oil and top with half of the mushroom mixture, bits of ricotta and half of the shredded cheese. Bake until the edges are golden brown. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board, and then place the second pizza in the oven to bake. Not a huge fan of white pizza? No worries. Try out more of our delicious homemade pizza recipes, from pizza tacos to mini naan pizzas. 

White Pizza With Mushrooms and Garlicky Greens 

Ingredients

1 recipe basic pizza dough or about 1 pound purchased refrigerated pizza dough or 2 frozen thin pizza crusts
Olive oil
3 cups (8 ounces) sliced assorted fresh mushroom caps (such as a mixture of button, cremini, shiitake, oyster, morels)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons (3 ounces) torn cleaned, trimmed greens, such as chard leaves, lacinato kale, baby kale, spinach or dandelion greens
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/8 teaspoon dried
Cornmeal for pans
1/2 cup ricotta cheese, farmer's cheese or crumbled goat cheese
2 cups coarsely shredded mozzarella or jack cheese
Chopped fresh basil and chives

Directions

Divide pizza dough in half.

Roll each into a ball.

Let stand covered with a towel on a well-floured work surface to come to room temperature, if needed.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add mushrooms.

Cook and stir until mushrooms are golden, about 4 minutes.

Stir in garlic and greens; cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Stir in thyme.

Let cool.

Heat oven to 525 on conventional or 500 on convection.

Oil a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or griddle.

Sprinkle with cornmeal.

Have all ingredients nearby.

Put 1 dough ball on a floured surface.

Use a floured rolling pin to gently roll the dough ball into a 12-inch round.

Place in prepared pan spreading dough to cover the bottom.

Brush dough lightly with oil.

Top with half of the mushroom mixture.

Dollop small bits of ricotta over all.

Sprinkle with half of the shredded cheese.

Bake until edges are golden brown and crispy, 7 to 9 minutes (slightly longer if you built your pizza on a frozen crust).

Carefully transfer the cooked pizza to a cutting board or another baking sheet.

Assemble and bake the other pizza.

Serve pizzas as soon as they come out of the oven, sprinkled with basil and chives.

This recipe by JeanMarie Brownson originally appeared in The Chicago Tribune.