‘Shrooms In My Pizza

Pizza – a good canvas for.. whatever. Anything goes on a pizza, as long as you figure out what flavours go well with each other. Pizza base is a crucial factor for a good pizza. Although I have tried various pizza dough recipes, I always, always come back to Slash Food’s recipe. This dough makes for a mean pizza margherita. But it does equally well with other toppings too. Be it a vegan pizza , or a pizzette served on the side with soup/salad, this recipe has withstood all my tests. This is, by far, my favourite pizza dough ever.

I spotted some gorgeous mushrooms in store last week. I bagged some (gosh, the organic ones are very pricey) with wild-mushroom lasagna on mind. After a sumptuous hunter’s omelet, I ditched lasagna and decided on pizza. I am so glad I did. It was The Best pizza we have ever had. The flavors were harmonious and the pizza was just divine.

After so many failures, I have discovered a good way of getting restaurant style sautéed mushrooms. As a rule, I always sauté mushrooms in a dab of butter. I let the skillet get screaming hot, melt a little butter, swirl the pan to coat the fat evenly, lay out mushrooms in a single layer and do not disturb for 2-3 minutes. When it has caramelized on one side, toss and brown the other side. Add salt just before removing from the skillet. I’ve had consistent results with this method and this is the only way I cook mushrooms.

Coming to the pizza, there is not much of recipe, but here’s what I did. Sauté mushrooms (any kind would do) as said above. Roll out the dough thinly, top with sautéed mushrooms, sliced red onions, thinly sliced garlic, thyme, pepper jack cheese and red pepper flakes. Slide into a 500F oven, and bake for 10-12 minutes. If your oven can go to higher temps, bake for lesser time. When browned around the edges, pull the pizza out, top with shredded parmesan and serve hot.

This recipe makes two pizza dough. For the second one, I used leftover eggplant stacks. I scraped off the tomato sauce, brushed the dough, laid the eggplant slices, and topped with feta cheese. I was surprised how delicious and versatile these eggplants were. A keeper, definitely!

Edited to add: This is my entry to Click-Cheese.

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Not a big fan of mushroom on a pizza,like your Mushroom curry though.
Eggplant pizzas are the best, tastes great.
Pics looks superb as always..

Finla said...

I love mushrooms and pizza withe them i adore?
Looks delicious and beautiful pictures.

Lavanya Raj said...

Using Mushroom and Eggplant as pizza topping is completely new style. Delicious Top Angle View!!

Nina Timm said...

Oh my, am I glad I am following this site....I have just seen the most beautiful 'shroom picture!!!

Poornima Nair said...

That looks sooo goood, mouth-watering...I'm off pizzas so ogling for too long can't be good for me :)

Pavani said...

Yummy looking 'shroom pizza. Love the mushroom b&w pictures.

Anonymous said...

That looks delicious! I am craving pizza now.

Chutneytales said...

I love this pizza..the crust is thin and the topping is great too..The pictures are b'ful

Manju said...

i liked your way of saute-ing mushrooms..the pizza looks gorgeous..i just recently made pizza with eggplant..n it was soo yummy!

Ashwini said...

Dont like mushrooms in pizza, but this looks tempting..Lovely pics as always

stephchows said...

this sounds absolutely delicious!! can't wait to try the flavor combination!

KALVA said...

divine... awesome pics

veggie belly said...

oh my, your pizza is gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous mushroom pics, and the pizza looks delicious!

Shari said...

Love your close-up mushroom shot!

Anonymous said...

I love mushrooms! The pizza looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Just stunned seeing the pic of the mushrooms. adore ur pizza.

KonkaniBlogger said...

Your description makes me want to grab that slice rite off! Thanx for your tips on sauteing the mushrooms..

vidhas said...

Love mushroom si pizza. Awesome click. something is waiting for you .

bee said...

now, i could eat that for dinner every single night.

Lisa Turner said...

Mushroom anything works for me. Your photos here are just stunning.

30 days ago said...

hey Suganya,
So in that website for making pizza dough, the guy uses a bread mixer. Do we need one, or can we use the same ingredients and punch the dough with fists?
Thanks,
Aruna

Suganya said...

Aruna, The dough is made with a food processor, but can definitely be made by hand. Take care not to over-knead the dough. Good luck with your pizzas!

Kavitha said...

Sounds heavenly!
Do you use make the crust in a standard kitchen oven or do you use the baking stone as described in the Slashfood recipe?

Btw - tried ur Mor Kali yesterday and ATE THE ENTIRE BATCH for lunch! Told myself my husband and son (who have never eaten it before) may not have appreciated the sour taste anyway :) It was amazing, just like my paati used to make it for me (I have never tried making it or eating anyone else's version since she passed away)

Suganya said...

Kavitha, I don't have a baking stone. But I use a pizza pan with excellent results.

I am truly happy that you enjoyed mor kali. Rustic recipes, such as this, are getting lost, and its nice to know that some still enjoy them as much as I do. I have also noticed, at least in my household, women seem to like this kali more than men do :).

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