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| © Paul Cisneros 2010 |
Italian food. I LOVE Italian food! So I'll start this blog with one of my favorite things to make...Basil Pesto Pizza!! I don't even know if it's origin is really in Italy. Frankly speaking, I don't think I really care cause it's so delicious. I used to be intimidated by making pestos because I had tried to make it in the past and failed. Luckily, for me, I'm not one to give up so easily. This summer I've grown my own basil plant and had so much basil that I decided to give it another go. And I'm glad I did! If you've ever made your own pesto, you know that the stuff you buy in a jar just doesn't compare with one freshly made. Intimidated? Don't be. If you can throw about 5 ingredients into a food processor and turn it on, you're good to go.
This time I decided to add artichoke hearts. For me this is the ultimate Mediterranean pizza. The only thing missing for me would be a sprinkle of Feta cheese on top. Feel free to make this recipe your own. I did.
Basil Pesto Pizza
INGREDIENTS:
1 Flatbread (or you could make your own dough)
2 Tbsp Basil Pesto
1/4 cup Fresh Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Chicken sliced
2 Artichoke hearts quartered
6-8 Black Olives sliced
Basil Pesto:
• 2 cups fresh Basil leaves (packed)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup Pine nuts
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 2/3 cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
**Optional: Sprinkle a few leftover Pine Nuts over the top
Add all ingredients (except Pecorino Romano) into a food processor and pulse until smooth slowly incorporating the olive oil. You can either mix the cheese in at the end by hand or in the food processor.
DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat oven to 350º. Place pre-packaged flatbread on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a couple of minutes. Flip the flatbread over on the baking sheet. Put about 2 Tbsp of the Basil Pesto in the center of the flatbread and spread in a circular motion from the center covering the whole flatbread and leaving about a 1/2 crust. Next, add the mozzarella cheese as evenly possible over the pesto. Then place the rest of ingredients over the cheese as you'd like. Place pizza back into the oven at 350º for another 10 minutes. Remember, the more ingredients you have on the pizza the longer the cooking time! You will have to experiment with your oven. Add some good Parmigiano Reggiano over the top. Buono Appetito!!
Basil Pesto Pizza
INGREDIENTS:
1 Flatbread (or you could make your own dough)
2 Tbsp Basil Pesto
1/4 cup Fresh Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Chicken sliced
2 Artichoke hearts quartered
6-8 Black Olives sliced
Basil Pesto:
• 2 cups fresh Basil leaves (packed)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup Pine nuts
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 2/3 cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
**Optional: Sprinkle a few leftover Pine Nuts over the top
Add all ingredients (except Pecorino Romano) into a food processor and pulse until smooth slowly incorporating the olive oil. You can either mix the cheese in at the end by hand or in the food processor.
DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat oven to 350º. Place pre-packaged flatbread on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a couple of minutes. Flip the flatbread over on the baking sheet. Put about 2 Tbsp of the Basil Pesto in the center of the flatbread and spread in a circular motion from the center covering the whole flatbread and leaving about a 1/2 crust. Next, add the mozzarella cheese as evenly possible over the pesto. Then place the rest of ingredients over the cheese as you'd like. Place pizza back into the oven at 350º for another 10 minutes. Remember, the more ingredients you have on the pizza the longer the cooking time! You will have to experiment with your oven. Add some good Parmigiano Reggiano over the top. Buono Appetito!!
I'm hungry now! This looks DELICIOUS!
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