Rosemary Potato Asiago Pizza Bianco

If you are on a low-carb diet, walk away. Now.

Welcome to strange: Potatoes on pizza. Welcome to wonderful!


Please do not be turned away by the amount of words below--I wanted explain every step as best I could so that you would not be intimidated. Everyone can do this if they have a stand mixer--this invention has eliminated the need for kneading by hand (for me). Thank God! It's really much simpler to make dough than anyone would think!!!
I was inspired to make pizza dough....and have been wanting to try Nancy's recipe (the first one she posted), but then saw she posted another one that she raved about. So of course, I was tired of waiting on my extremely busy husband to finally make more of his famous dough (he became sort of a obsessed to find the most authentic Neapolitan pizza crust recipe after we came back from Naples/Sorrento a couple years ago). The problem, we discovered, is that none of our ovens go to as high of a temperature as is needed--but at least he got the taste down after some tinkering (he has notes on his experiments!).


This dough is very different than the one we make--much sweeter (though certainly not dessert grade!), different texture, but nuttier thanks to the addition of whole grain. This healthy crust is really good & I thought it a PERFECT pairing for some nutty cheese (Asiago), some mild and creamy onion, and potato topping. And since potatoes go so well with Rosemary, there you have it! I did one without just to be sure, and we both concluded that the Rosemary was pretty essential--provided a "clean" layer to the other sweet, creamy, nutty, crispy layers. Picture below is a pizza with JUST Asiago on it.


ROSEMARY POTATO ASIAGO PIZZA BIANCO

Pizza Dough (see recipe below)
White Sauce (see recipe below)
2 medium waxy potatoes (I used a gold potato), sliced incredibly thin--I HIGHLY suggest you use boiled potatoes like myself to make it easier & not require a mandoline or second guess the cooking time!!!!
a handful of fresh rosemary, chopped
4 oz. freshly grated Asiago cheese
4 oz. part-skim mozzarella

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Add 1/3 of white sauce recipe on pizza(s)--1/3 of sauce recipe goes perfectly for 1/3 of dough recipe--which is one dough ball (or in my case two b/c I split one out of three to make 2 smaller pizzas).

Add potato slices over sauce. Then sprinkle evenly with the cheeses and rosemary on top.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until crust gets golden on the outside and cheeses have melted.

Best to serve with a crisp salad (preferably something with a tart vinaigrette).

PIZZA CRUST
Recipe courtesy of Kelly (Domesticbydesign.com)


2 1/4 cup hot water (110-115 degrees, but I never checked--just used hottest tap water & it was fine--then again, I have really hot tap water!)1/3 cup olive oil (Kelly uses virgin coconut oil, but I feel the need to use eevo since this is Italian)1/3 cup honey (or slightly less in my case)1 Tbsp. yeast
2 tsp. salt
6 cups flour (she recommends soft milled wheat, but who are we kidding here? How am I going to get access to that in Memphis? So I used 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, 3 1/4 cups all-purpose and 1/4 cup wheat germ)Gently stir flours together.

In a (stand) mixer, add water, honey, oil, and salt and mix until combined. You may have to scrape down the sides just a bit.

Add 3 cups of flour mixture and mix until just blended. Add yeast and mix in until just blended. Then add remaining flour mixture and mix until just blended.

Turn off mixer and set a timer for 10 minutes and let dough rest.

Using a dough hook in mixer, knead for 6 minutes (or you can do it by hand).

Once the dough has finished kneading, pull it apart and divide it into 2 or 3 dough balls. It will be sticky--you want a sticky dough! This recipe makes enough for 2 thick crust pizzas or 3 thinner crust pizzas (I was actually able to make 3 dough balls & then separated the one I was using into two big personal pizzas as I was experimenting with toppings).


To bake the pizza, roll out the dough (you may need some more flour to handle it--I did NOT roll out the dough--but spread it with my hands for a more rustic presentation). Roll or stretch it out as thin as you can get it for a thin crust and leave it sort of more together for a thicker crust. We like ours a bit thinner and it ensures for more even cooking too. I liked doing this all directly on a silpat so that I didn't have to transfer the dough--but placed the silpat directly onto the pizza stone I had heated in the oven after adding my toppings.
Once your dough is rolled out, add sauce, cheese, and other toppings, and bake for 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees.

Nancy has had success in freezing the dough. As she instructed, I wrapped the remaining dough balls each in saran wrap, ziploc bag, and freezer. To serve, let one thaw in the refrigerator the day you want to make it.

CARAMELIZED ONION WHITE SAUCE

2 Tbsp. light butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, sliced lengthwise into thin ribbons
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup white wine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and takes on a golden shade, about 15 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook--just until aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in the white wine and cook, scraping any flavoring from the bottom of the pan, until the wine is almost completely absorbed. Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and stir to completely coat the onions. Season with salt and pepper.

Whisk in the milk and bring the mixture to a slight simmer. Continue to cook, stirring constantly (and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent flour from settling) until the mixture thickens to a sauce, about 3 minutes. You will notice it thicken and coat your spatula/spoon. Remove from heat and set aside until your pizza is ready to be dressed.

Makes enough for 2-3 pizzas.

**Note: The white sauce recipe makes 3 cups sauce, more than is needed for this recipe. The remaining sauce will keep covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

ENJOY YOUR PIZZA!!!!!