Ahhhhh… the power of goat cheese.
Is there anything better than a homemade pizza? I say YES! Homemade pizza with goat cheese. Something magic happens when heat hits this cheese, it transforms into something decadent and special.
I originally put these ingredients together as an appetizer pizza, but I have to admit that I ate it for my dinner and it was delicious.
For the crust, I used The Pioneer Woman’s pizza crust recipe. You can find it here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/07/grilled-vegetable-pizza/
My review of the crust – It was SO easy to pull together, took no time at all. It did rise, it rolled out easily, it looked really pretty, and it cooked through as expected. It was more of a crackery type crust, as opposed to a bready crust.
I cook with stoneware, which is well seasoned. So once I’ve rolled the pizza dough out as thin as I can get it, I toss a bit off cornmeal on the stone to keep the dough from sticking.
If you are cooking with a metal pan, you may want to use cooking spray instead.
If you haven’t ever carmelized onions before, be not afraid. It’s so so simple.
Slice up a whole onion in thin slices.
This photo makes me think of a movie quote: “You’re eating worms Michael.”
Did you get the movie? A few of my other favorites from the same movie, “Death by stereo!” “Burn rubber does NOT mean warp speed!!!” “One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach…all the da*n vampires.”
In a large skillet over medium-low heat, place a tablespoon of olive oil along with onions. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes.
Since I mentioned salt and pepper, I thought I would share a photo of my storage vessels for these ingredients. Do you see a problem? I think I need to invest in a nice grinder, or perhaps a better cellar for pepper I grind in bulk.
Back to the recipe – Add in 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and continue to cook for 10 more minutes.
Voila, carmelized onions!
After you roll the pizza dough as thin as you can get it, you’ll need a “sauce”. I decided that those sweet carmelized onions would pair well with fig jam.
I just so happened to have delicious, homemade fig jam in my cupboard. If you don’t, then I am very sorry for you. You’ll have to settle for store-bought. But I would like to encourage you to get a dear friend who happens to be a fantastic cook. And make sure she has a fig bush in her back yard. A bush the size of her house, so that she’ll have figs coming out of her ears. This will ensure that you get fresh figs every summer, as well as a batch of jam that will last you through the year. And make sure she’s a sweet person who is willing to do all that work, just to share the fruits of her labor with friends. And if you don’t have a friend like Colleen, then again, I’m very sorry… I’d share her with you if I could. She’s a fantastic friend, and not only because of her delicious fig jam.
Spread a thin layer of the jam, leaving a 1″ crust. Cover the jam with the onions.
Then if you have rosemary growing gangbusters and need to find a way to use it, chop it up and toss it on top of the onions.
Cook the pizza in a preheated 475 degree oven on the lowest shelf for 15-17 minutes.
And the goat cheese. Ahhhhh, my dear friend goat cheese.
When the pizza comes out of the oven, we’ll just crumble half of this over the top. The heat from the pizza will do miraculous things to this cheese. Mmmmmm.
I hope you love it. I ate every bite last night.
Printable Version: Carmelized Onion Pizza
1/2 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
3/4 cups Warm Water
2 cups All-purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Sprinkle yeast over 3/4 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low-speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.
Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.
Laundry and Vodka’s Carmelized Onion Pizza:
1 onion, sliced thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
4 tablespoons Fig jam
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
1.5 oz goat cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
Over medium-low heat, add olive oil, onions, along with salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes.
Add vinegar to onions, cook 10 additional minutes.
Roll dough out as thin as possible. If using stone, dust stone with corn meal to prevent sticking. If cooking with metal pan, coat with cooking spray.
Spread fig jam across crust, leaving 1″ crust.
Top jam with cooked onions.
Dust chopped rosemary across onions.
Bake on lowest rack for 15-17 minutes.
While pizza is still hot, crumble goat cheese over top.
