Duck Confit Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Crescenza Cheese

By akselden

Ingredients

• Pizza dough:
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbs kosher salt
• 1 tsp. fresh yeast
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• Topping
• 1 can (28 oz.) peeled plum tomatoes,
• drained and pureed in a food processor
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup vegetable oil, or as needed
• 1 1/2 lbs. (about 2 medium) sweet
• onions, cut into 1/2-inch rings
• Cornmeal
• 12 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into small
• chunks
• 3 duck legs confit* or chicken legs,
• skinned, boned and shredded
• 12 oz. Crescenza, Brie or Taleggio
• cheese (Brie or Taleggio cut into small
• chunks)
• Leaves from 1 bunch fresh sage

Preparation

Step 1

1. For the dough: Combine 3 cups of the flour and the salt in a large bowl and mix well. Mash the yeast with the honey in a medium bowl, add the water and oil, and pour over the flour mixture; stir with a wooden spoon to form a shaggy mass. Add an additional Y, cup flour, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition to incorporate. Then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, adding additional flour as needed, 6 to 8 minutes. Form into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Divide into 6 balls, each weighing 4 1/2 to 5 ounces, and roll under your hand to
tighten. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
2. For the topping: Season the tomato puree with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion rings and cook, seasoning with 1/2 teaspoon salt about halfway through the cooking, until the onions are evenly caramelized, about I5 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Sprinkle two baking sheets with cornmeal. Stretch each ball of dough into an 8-inch round and place on the baking sheets. Spread each dough round with 1/4 cup tomato puree. Sprinkle with mozzarella chunks, then shredded duck confit, then caramelized
onions. Dot with the Crescenza cheese (or scatter Brie or Taleggio over). Bake until the crust is golden brown and crisp at the edges, 10-15 minutes.
5. While the pizza bakes, pour enough of the remaining vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet and place over medium-high heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Add the sage leaves in a single layer and fry until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Garnish the hot pizza with sage leaves. Makes 6 small pizzas.
*Duck leg confit is available at specialty-food stores or online at IGourmet. com.