quinn's place

URGENT:

i've been yim yum yammering about this pizza for weeks now. IT IS SO WILDLY DELICIOUS.

the flavors are totally insane and perfectly spring!!!!

we made this thang 3 times within a week and then spiraled off and continued a binge of various pizzas for dayyyyys. sometimes that just happens somehow....you realize you've eaten pizza every day for like 7 days straight and you're like...how did i get here? cool. but yikes.

(so in other words, this week has been salad central.)

but i'm not kidding this pizza recipe is REAL GOOD and i'm REAL PROUD of it.

we've been making our homemade pizzas with a pizza stone which i really believe is a game-changer for the crust. BUT it's been terrifying and high stress times when it comes to shimmying the pizza dough off the parchment paper and onto the fiery hot stone in the oven. so we got real serious about it and bought a pizza peel and now we're selling pizzas out of our back door.

(nahhh... but WE SHOULD BE...)

so first ya got a very simple and easy dough (bread flour makes it much betta than all-purpose in my opinion), a mint-pesto hybrid, peppery crumbly lamb, fresh creamy burrata cheese, zippy red onion slivers, topped with fresh goat cheese, tons of fresh mint leaves, and some red chili flakes.

shoutout costco who sells the most amazing pesto! last summer, we took this VERY good chewy baguette, sliced in half with olive oil drizzled, threw it on the grill til golden and slathered it in costco pesto and holy moses that was one of the best things i've ever eaten.

you can also make it from scratch, if you like.

but the point is that you add extra fresh mint to the pesto and pulse it together! for that extra layer of mint flavorrrrr. actually i hope you're not freaked out by the mint on this 'zaw? its good. so veryyyy goooooood. i told ya we were having a moment with fresh mint lately next to these fab fresh rolls.

please make this pizza and go nuts over it like we did!

Lamb, Pesto, Burrata & Mint Pizza

Makes One 12-inch pizza

Active Time: 30 minutes, Total Minimum Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough: (Adapted from the Half Baked Harvest Cookbook!)

1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
1 TB. honey
1 cup bread flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 TB. extra virgin olive oil

Mint Pesto:

1/2 cup prepared pesto (store bought or homemade)
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
1/2 oz. fresh mint (1 package // about 1/3 cup)
1 garlic clove
2 TB fresh lemon juice

Lamb:

1/3 lb. ground lamb
1 TB. extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Toppings:

2-3 fresh burrata balls
1/3 cup red onion slices
1/2 oz. fresh mint (1 package // 1/3 cup)
goat cheese crumbles
red chili flakes

Instructions-

For the dough, add warm water, honey, and yeast to a medium bowl and whisk. Let sit for about 10 minutes until it gets a bit foamy. Add the bread flour and salt, mix and use your hands to knead the dough together for a few minutes. Add a sprinkle of flour if it's too sticky.

Use the olive oil to grease another large bowl and transfer the dough to this bowl, turning the dough to coat in oil. Cover with a warm damp towel and let rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until about doubled in size. You can make the dough in advance and freeze it in plastic wrap if you need to.

If using a pizza stone, preheat it in the oven as hot as you can while you prepare the pizza, about 500 degrees F.

After the dough is risen, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. If you're using a baking sheet and not a pizza stone, you can turn out the dough onto a lightly greased & floured baking sheet. Roll out as thin as you can, about 1/4 inch thick.

Heat oven to 450 degrees F whether you're using a pizza stone or a baking sheet. If you're using a pizza stone, the oven should be be BLAZING HOT from preheating the stone, so be careful. We even bought a pizza peel for this step.

For the mint pesto, add all ingredients to a small food processor and pulse until incorporated.

For the lamb, heat the ground lamb in olive oil and minced garlic in a pan over medium heat. Add salt and lots of black pepper to taste, and a dash of red chili flakes. Let it get dark on each side before tossing the meat. I preferred it crumbly and peppery and almost blackened, but cook as you desire.

Spread the pesto over the dough, about an inch from the edge. Add the crumbled lamb.

If baking on a baking sheet - add the remaining toppings now and bake the pizza in the oven at 450 for about 12-15 minutes until lightly browned on top.

If baking on a pizza stone - CAREFULLY shimmy the pizza dough with pesto & lamb crumbles off the parchment paper and onto the hot pizza stone sprinkled in a bit of corn meal. Bake for 5 minutes to solidify the crust before adding the wet burrata. Open the oven door and pull the rack out just enough so you can break the burrata balls on top and sprinkle on the red onion slices. Bake for 5 more minutes. Carefully remove pizza from oven onto a large cutting board using an oven-safe tool.

Sprinkle crumbles of goat cheese on top, along with torn fresh mint, and a few dashes of red chili flakes. Slice and serve immediately! Enjoy within 2 days.

pizza is a journey.

i've made a lot of homemade pizzas in my day, and i'm still trying to master my ideal recipes. homemade thin crust being my next endeavor...

but here are some 'zaws that are best because of their simplicity.

my friend whitney & i took a neapolitan pizza class from some real live neapolitans when we were in new york city, and i definitely have been following their advice on simpler toppings for homemade pizzas since then. if only i had a super hot woodfire oven and i could perfect that dough...

although i did just see some sort of goofy newfangled outdoor "pizza oven" at the hot tub store for $250. and the wheels were a'turning.

i mean there's really nothing to this. and yet so so simple and so great.

shoutout hot mama's pizza in the capitol hill neighborhood of seattle, who's incredible pesto pizza i aspire to recreate.

oh the imperfection of homemade pizza. so practically perfect in every way.

Homemade Pizza Basics: Margherita & Pesto

Total Active Time: 1 hour (2 hours inactive rising time)

Makes (2) 12" pizzas

Ingredients:

Thick Pizza Dough - (Recipe adapted from How Sweet Eats go-to pizza dough!)

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 TB olive oil
1 TB honey
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. (one packet) active yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour

Simple Margherita

14 oz. San Marzano peeled tomatoes (1/2 a large can - specifically these tomatoes!)
1/2 tsp. salt (this ratio of the San Marzano tomatoes to salt is ideal - you will have leftover tomato sauce)
6 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced into thin rounds
a few fresh basil leaves

Simple Pesto

1/2 cup freshly prepared pesto
6 oz. fresh mozzarella
a few fresh basil leaves (optional)

Instructions -

Combine warm water, yeast packet, honey & olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Whisk and set aside until slightly bubbly, about 10 minutes. Add half of the flour and the salt, stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Add a bit more flour and mix the dough with your hands. Lightly flour a large surface. Add the remainder of the flour into the dough and form into a ball, kneading it on the floured surface until the dough is plump and not sticky. Just add a TB of flour at a time if the dough is too sticky.

Place the dough in a large bowl, greased with 1-2 TB of olive oil. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rise for about 1.5-2 hours in a warm place.

Prepare your pesto as instructed. For the margherita pizza, either pulse the tomatoes and salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Gently slice the mozzarella cheese.

Once the dough has about doubled in size, knead the dough on a floured surface with your hands. Divide the dough into two equal halves.

If baking on a baking sheet, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. If baking on a pizza stone, preheat oven to 475 degrees F and bake the stone about 10 minutes to heat it up.

I generally like to roll the dough out on a piece of parchment paper, where I build the pizza if I am baking the pizza on a baking sheet. These pizzas were baked on a pizza stone, in which case sprinkle the pizza stone with some cornmeal and carefully place the rolled out pizza dough onto the pizza stone and add the toppings there.

Prepare one pizza for baking at a time. Lightly brush the rolled out dough with a little olive oil. Spread about 1/2 cup of prepared tomato sauce or prepared pesto all over the dough - about 1/2 an inch from the edge. Top with 4-6 slices of fresh mozzarella and a few basil leaves.

On a baking sheet - Bake at 425 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes

On a pizza stone - Bake at 475 degrees F for 12-15 minutes

until cheese is browned to your liking and crust is golden!

Slice while the cheese is still hot, and serve immediately.