Wood-Fired Cauliflower and Mushroom Pizza by Chef David
Chef David's Wood-Fired Cauliflower and Mushroom Pizza, baked in the XO pizza oven, will transport you straight to Naples, with its super-crisp crust and gentle wood smoke flavor.
Topped with roasted cauliflower and mushrooms, then finished with fresh arugula, this pizza can be a hearty main course or a great appetizer for a party. Add other vegetables, cheeses and herbs to create your own, customized pizza.
Ingredients
- 1 ball of pizza dough, store-bought or homemade, at room temperature
- 4 cups roasted vegetables; mushrooms, cauliflower, onions, fennel, etc.
- 2 handfuls fresh arugula
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Corn meal or flour as needed
Preparation
Build a wood fire in your pizza oven and allow it to reach a temperature of at least 500ºF. If you're baking the pizza in your oven, place a rack on the lowest shelf and preheat the oven to 500ºF.
Sprinkle cornmeal or flour over your pizza peel or on an inverted sheet tray, then stretch and pull the dough to make a large circle or rectangle. You can also press the dough into an oiled, rimmed sheet pan for a pan pizza.
Scatter the roasted vegetables over the dough, then drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Transfer the pizza to the oven. If using a pizza oven, rotate the pizza a few times to make sure it cooks evenly. In a home oven, you may need to rotate it 180°F, so it browns evenly. Let the crust get deeply golden and bubbly.
Remove the pizza from the oven and scatter the arugula over it, drizzle with a bit more olive oil, and serve.
Bete'avon!
