Chanterelle pizza with arugula-pumpkin seed pesto and chevre

By andreajayros

This pizza is a perfect taste of autumn!

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough
• 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water (105-115°F)
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading and dredging
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• Pesto
• 4 cups (about 6 oz.) arugula leaves, packed
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (or pine nuts), toasted
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup vegan Parmesan cheese, packed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Topping
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 oz. chanterelles (or other wild mushrooms), thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup golden raisins (or dried turkish apricots), chopped or medjool dates
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar (preferably aged)
• 1 tbsp. fresh thyme, minced
• 8 oz. vegan chevre (goat cheese)

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from voodoolily.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

To prepare dough: Stir together yeast and water in a small cup until the yeast is dissolved. In a large, bowl mix flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and stir until dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic (about ten minutes). Note: this can be done with the dough hook attachment of your kitchen mixer, which gives you time to sit back with a magazine and enjoy a glass of wine. Transfer dough to a large, oiled bowl, and roll dough around to coat. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 1.5 hours to rise. You may now return to your glass of wine and magazine.

Turn dough out onto a floured surfaced and flatten with your hands. Cut dough in half and form two balls. Dust the balls lightly with flour and cover with a kitchen towel or inverted bowl (large enough to allow further dough expansion), and leave for an hour until the dough has doubled in size. While dough is rising, prepare pesto and topping. If using a pizza stone, begin preheating oven to highest setting.

To prepare pesto: In a blender or food processor, blend arugula, pumpkin seeds, garlic and vegan parmesan to a thick paste. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil to loosen the pesto to a spreadable consistency.

To prepare topping: In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the shallots and garlic for one minute, then add the chanterelles and raisins. After about five minutes, when the mushrooms release their liquid, increase the heat to high and cook, stirring often, until the liquid evaporates (one or two minutes). Add white wine and balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan, and cook another minute until the wine completely evaporates. Turn off heat and stir in thyme.

To assemble pizza: Preheat oven to highest setting. Using a your fingers, flatten each dough ball into 9" rounds, lifting and turning the dough several times. Dust with flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking. Carefully slide dough onto a lightly floured baker’s peel or rimless cookie sheet. Give it a quick shake to make sure it’s not sticking (toss a little flour under the dough if is sticking). With the back of a ladle, smear half the pesto onto each dough round,
working in a circular motion, to an inch from the dough’s edge. Top each dough round with half the mushroom mixture (scoop with a slotted spoon or tongs to prevent adding liquid to the pizza) and dot with pinched-off bits of vegan chevre. To transfer the pizzas to the heated pizza stone, line up far edge of peel (or cookie sheet) with the far edge of pizza stone and gently jerk peel (or cookie sheet), pulling back carefully as the pizzas are laid onto the stone. Once the pizzas are on the stone, do not move them until they’re ready to be removed. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the
dough is browned and crisped. Move the pizzas from the oven onto a cutting board and slice into wedges or squares.

(Note: if using a baking sheet instead of a stone, bake at 425°F for 15 minutes.)