Over the holidays, I got my hands on Half Baked Harvest‘s latest cookbook, Super Simple. I’ve been a fan of the blog for years so I knew I’d enjoy the cookbook. And I, like, really enjoy it. I think I made 4 of the recipes in about 3 days, this pizza being one of them.
The recipe is in the cookbook so I’m going to give you a bird’s eye view here, with all the details coming from memory.
First, make some lemony basil pesto with lemon zest/juice, basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, and parm. Set aside. I do not know why I haven’t been making pesto from scratch all along. It was so easy, comes out better than store-bought, and can be frozen.
You’ll cook the pizza in 3 rounds. First, cook off the crust. This is where I deviated from the recipe. Instead of a normal pizza crust, I used a Trader Joe’s broccoli crust. It was healthier, yes, but I honestly thought it complemented the flavors really well. This is a swap I would choose to make over and over again. For round 1 of your pizza cooking, bake the crust according to the package. While it’s cooking, prep your salad. The salad is arugula tossed in a simple vinaigrette of olive oil, champagne vinegar, sesame seeds, honey, and red pepper flakes. (I think…like I said, this is all from memory.) Set the salad aside and start topping your pizza in round 2 once the crust is ready. Spread the pesto on the crust and top with crumbled goat cheese, chopped sundried tomatoes, chopped kale, and fresh mozzarella. Bake till the cheese is nice and melty. When it comes out, top with the arugula salad (that’s round 3) and slice it up.
I honestly did not think this would be up my beau’s alley, but he loved it! He said next time he’d like to see a little prosciutto on there, and I think I can make that happen.
Peaches to Apples 