Pizza Rustica with Wild Nettles
(source: Coastal Living)
Prep Time: | 50 min. |
Cook Time: | 6-8 min. |
Ingredients:
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups wild nettle leaves, baby spinach, or kale
- semolina flour
- pizza dough
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded provolone cheese
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
- extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Peel outer skins from garlic bulb, leaving cloves attached.
Cut off top quarter of bulb. Place bulb, cut-side up,
on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon
oil, and seal foil tightly over garlic.
- Bake at 425F for 45 minutes or until soft. Remove from oven;
cool. Scoop out garlic pulp, mash, and stir until smooth.
- Preheat oven to 450F with a pizza stone on the bottom rack.
- Blanch nettle leaves in salted boiling water 1 minute, drain,
and plunge into ice water. Remove nettle leaves from water,
wringing out excess, and set aside. (If using spinach, place
in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat at high 3 minutes.
Set aside.)
- Sprinkle surface with semolina flour, and roll pizza dough into
a 12-inch circle.
- Spread dough with mashed garlic (garlic won't cover entire surface);
sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper.
Sprinkle with Pecorinoa Romano and thyme.
- Roughly chop nettles, and spread over thyme. Sprinkle mozzarella,
provolone, and fontina evenly on pizza. Carefully slide
pizza onto the preheated stone; bake 6 to 8 minutes or until
edges are lightly browned and crispy. Slice, drizzle with
extra-virgin olive oil to taste.
Yield: makes 4 servings
Notes:
- Place pizza on parchment paper—helps slide onto pizza stone.