Fontina & Wild Mushroom Pizza

Normally, I think of pizza as a casual dinner - one that you'd enjoy with a beer.  But sometimes I like to elevate it to a "wine-worthy" dinner.  This pizza just felt too fancy for beer.  You start with a standard pizza dough, then top it with mushroom pesto, sauteed wild mushrooms, fontina, and Parmesan.  My grocery store carries a pack of assorted wild mushrooms, so I just bought those.  I believe it's a mix of cremini, shiitake, oyster, and portobello.  I sauteed them in a little butter, then amped up the flavor with some garlic, fresh thyme, and white wine. 

And while the pizza as a whole was really delicious, the mushroom pesto is what made it special.  It uses a combination of dried porcinis and roasted mushrooms to maximize the mushroom flavor.  I gave it even more by replacing half of the olive oil with truffle oil.  I loved the pesto so much that I was tempted to just eat it with a spoon for my dinner, but I managed to save it for the pizza.  I will definitely make it again to serve with pasta though.  Or stuffed into chicken or pork tenderloin.  Or for another one of these pizzas.

I served this pizza with my fall harvest pear salad, and of course a big glass of wine.  It was fancy pizza night after all :-)


Wild Mushroom & Fontina Pizza
Pink Parsley Original

• 1 ball of pizza dough
• olive oil
• 1 recipe mushroom pesto (recipe follows)
• 8 oz mushrooms, preferably a variety of wild mushrooms
• 1 Tbs butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees for 30 minutes, along with the pizza stone.

Meanwhile, prepare the mushrooms.  In a skillet set over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the mushrooms and saute until browned and softened, 5-8 minutes.  Add the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant.  Season with salt and pepper, then pour in the wine.  Cook until the liquid has evaporated and remove from heat.


On a large square of parchment paper dusted with cornmeal, stretch the pizza dough into a 12-inch circle.  Brush the outer edges with olive oil, and spread the pesto over the dough, leaving a small border (about 1/2 inch).  Scatter the mushrooms evenly over the pesto, and top with the fontina and Parmesan cheeses.


Carefully transfer the pizza and parchment to the preheated stone, and cook about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is lightly browned.  Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Mushroom Pesto
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

• 5 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 oz dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 small shallot, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 Tbs fresh parsley leaves
• 2 Tbs Parmesan cheese

 Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees; line rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty foil. On the baking sheet, toss sliced mushrooms with 1 tablespoon oil and salt and pepper. Roast, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 20-25 minutes.  For the last 10 minutes, add the garlic, in their skins, to the pan to roast as well.

Peel the garlic when it's cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, soak the dried mushrooms in 1/4 cup boiling water for about 5 minutes.  Strain through a paper towel-lined colander and reserve the liquid.

In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, process roasted mushrooms, garlic, porcini and liquid, shallot, thyme, parsley and remaining 3 tablespoons oil until smooth, stopping as necessary to scrape down sides of bowl. Transfer mixture to small bowl and stir in cheese; season to taste with salt and pepper.