Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes
Bake time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6 (as an appetizer)
If you're not in the mood to make pizza, go and enjoy it at Osteria Mamma in Los Angeles. This is where I first tasted a heavenly pizza with pears and gorgonzola. I've now come up with a tasty version of this pizza - one that's so loaded with flavors that no one can ever stop eating it.
By popular demand, I'm sharing the recipe for pear and gorgonzola pizza on this blog. And, all you need is pizza dough, pears, gorgonzola, mozzarella and oil. The best part is that all the ingredients (including premade dough) can be found at Trader Joe's® stores.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
One 16-ounce Trader Joe's® plain, refrigerated pizza dough
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 to 1-1/2 large ripe pears (any variety), peeled, quartered, cored and cut into 1/16-inch thick slices
1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese*
1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 450ºF.
Using a pastry brush or your fingers, spread the vegetable oil evenly on a 12 X 16-inch rectangular or 16-inch round baking sheet. Place the dough over oiled sheet and flatten slightly. Flip the dough over and begin stretching the dough gently with fingertips until it fits into sides of baking sheet.
Brush the dough with olive oil. Arrange the pear slices evenly over dough, followed by the gorgonzola and mozzarella cheeses.
Place sheet with pizza on a rack positioned in upper third of oven and bake 10 to 11 minutes or until cheese begins to turn light golden. Transfer the pizza to bottom rack and bake an additonal 4 to 5 minutes or until bottom of pizza is golden brown.
Serve the pizza hot with a green salad.
Wine suggestion: Cabernet Sauvignon.
*Note: When assembling the pizza, use the lesser amount of the cheeses. If you are a cheese fanatic, feel free to add more.
Text & Photograph ©2011 Nancy Real
