Pesto Pizza

I've told you all before that I love pesto. It is a gift from the gods as far as I'm concerned. I want to share a tasty pizza recipe featuring this yummy concoction.

Pesto Pizza

1 pizza crust (recipe follows)

1/2 cup pesto (recipe in July 20th post)

1 small onion, sliced

handful of fresh mushrooms, sliced

handful of chopped sun dried tomatoes

1 grilled chicken breast, sliced (optional)

4 ounces black olives, sliced

8 ounces of shredded mozzarella

2 ounces of goat cheese crumbled

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Preheat pizza stone in oven for at least 30 minutes. This is what gives the crust it's lovely texture. Don't even think of preparing a good pizza without doing this.

While oven preheats, roll out dough to roughly the size of of your stone. Have all ingredients ready to top the pizza before taking stone out of the oven. Take out the stone and immediately place dough on it. Top with pesto, mushrooms, onions, sun dried tomatoes, chicken if using, black olives, mozzarella and goat cheese. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Check on pizza often. It will be done when cheese is bubbling and crust is lightly browned.

Pizza Crust

1 package of yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 cup warm water

3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for rolling

Olive oil for oiling bowl

Mix the yeast, sugar, and water. Let rest for 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 tsp of salt. Add flour. If dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. It crumbly, add more water, 1 tbsp at a time. Knead dough until it's smooth and elastic. Form dough into a round ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and let rest in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Once the dough has risen, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and roll to needed size. This makes a large crust.