I really love mushrooms, they are definitely my favorite pizza topping and I especially like them roasted. I know a lot of pizzas just have raw mushrooms but once you have had roasted you won’t go back. Roasting your mushrooms serves two purposes. Firstly it brings out more flavor in them which is always good and secondly it removes a lot of the moisture so you get a less soggy pizza – yay! Thanks to Dan from the Forno Bravo community cookbook for this recipe. In case you didn’t know Forno Bravo make fantastic pizza ovens. My husband and I bought one about 12 months ago and it gets a tremendous amount of use especially in winter. Pizza tastes so much better in a real pizza oven!
Ingredients
sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, sliced
- 1 1/2 cloves garlic, smashed or coarsely chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh basil
- 1 14.5 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
pizza
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 red onion, sliced paper thin
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 fresh basil leaves, torn
- Freshly grated parmesan, as needed
Directions
- To make the sauce, heat your olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and garlic, season, and sweat, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are just starting to turn golden around the edges.
- Add the thyme and basil and allow to toast for 15 seconds, then add the tomatoes, using a spoon or your hands to break up the flesh.
- Reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to simmer until it has thickened considerably. Remove the thyme and basil sprigs and use a stick blender or food processor to puree the sauce until smooth.
- If your sauce is still too thin return to the heat and allow it to reduce to proper pizza sauce consistency.
- Meanwhile, roast your mushrooms in your wood oven. Preheat a skillet large enough to hold the mushrooms in a single layer.
- Add the olive oil to the pan; it should smoke. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and return to the oven.
- Do not stir your mushrooms for 2 minutes. You want your mushrooms to sear, and stirring too much or too soon is going to drop your heat, causing the mushrooms to start leaching out water and steaming.
- Roast the mushrooms, stirring once or twice, until they are golden brown and delicious, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- To assemble your pizza, stretch or roll your dough using your preferred method. Top with a thin layer of sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella. Top with the roasted mushrooms, halved cherry tomatoes and red onions.
- Give the whole pie a dusting of parmesan, then transfer to your wood oven and bake until done. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the torn basil leaves. Portion as appropriate and consume as desired. And then, if you’re like me, make another one.
