Grape & Goat Cheese Pizza . . . I'm back

Posted by Food Rockz Man at 9/7/2008 10:12 PM and is filed under Cheese,Pizza
Photo of Grape & Goat Cheese Pizza

I'm back in DC after an awesome road-trip vacation to Maine, with several stops along the way there and back.  To those of you I was able to spend time with, it was great seeing you and thanks for your hospitality.  I've actually been back since Wednesday, but it wasn't until today that I made it to a farmers market and got back into my cooking groove.  So here I am, feeling refreshed and as creative as ever.  I've got a fridge full of local food, so it should be a good week in the kitchen.

Quaker Valley Orchards of Biglerville, PA, had beautiful Red Candice and White Himrod seedless grapes at the Dupont Circle farmers market today.  I'm not sure why, but I got the urge to put them on a pizza with some Pipe Dreams chevre with ash, from Greencastle, PA . . . a Pennsylvania pizza here in Washington, DC.  I've always enjoyed grapes with cheese, so this seemed like a natural combo with interesting potential.  It was in fact delicious.  I know it might sound odd to some of you; it's description has been met with hesitation and skepticism by those I've told about it.  But try it and you might surprise yourself.  I'm glad I did.  The following recipe makes a 12"-14" pizza.  I'm still working on my pizza crust recipe, but this one was pretty good.

  • parchment paper
  • pizza stone
  • 1 packet (.25 oz.) yeast
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 3/4 cup 115°F water
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • olive oil
  • one 8-inch-ish log of goat cheese* cut into discs as pictured above (the Pipe Dreams cheese I used didn't have a weight on the label and I neglected to weigh it before using it)
  • 1.5 cups seedless grapes* (I sliced some in half and used some whole.  When I do it again, I'll slice them all because some of the whole ones rolled off the pizza in the oven.)
  • 6 fresh leaves of basil*, chiffonade cut
  • red pepper flakes
  • salt & pepper
  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F with a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven.
  2. Mix the yeast, sugar and water and allow 8 minutes to dissolve.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour with the salt.  When the yeast, sugar and water mixture has dissolved, pour it into the bowl of flour/salt and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.  Cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 30 minutes.
  4. Turn the dough out onto the parchment paper.  If it's sticking to your hand, knead a bit of flour into it until you can handle it.  With your hands or a rolling pin, flatten the ball of dough into a 12"-14" round.
  5. Brush the dough with olive oil, add the cheese (but not the grapes or other ingredients) and bake for 12 minutes or so, until the dough and the cheese are beginning to brown.
  6. Add the grapes and continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven, sprinkle with red pepper flakes, basil, salt and pepper and eat.


 del.icio.us  Stumbleupon  Technorati  Digg 

 
Trackbacks
Trackback specific URL for this entry
  • Trackbacks are closed for this entry.
Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

Leave a comment

Submitted comments will be subject to moderation before being displayed.

 Enter the above security code (required)

 Name

 Email (will not be published)

 Website

Your comment is 0 characters limited to 3000 characters.