Cremini Mushroom White Pizza

Do you have a garden? Is it overflowing? Ours is producing like crazy right now. I've pinched back the basil and made pesto. I've roasted, sauteed, and steamed zucchini and yellow squash.




All these lovely Roma tomatoes went into a simple sauce that went into the freezer for the winter.




Now a reasonable person might have used some of this fresh tomato sauce to make a pizza.




But if there's one thing I look forward to every summer, it's white pizza. I've blogged about it before, but this mushroom and onion pizza was so good that I had to share. I'll be making it again and again! It's very simple, but the mushroom flavor is so wonderful with the garlicky pesto. Oh, yum!

I use pesto as the base on my white pizza. I'll include my recipe here, but feel free to use a store brand. While I should have made my own pizza crust, I have to admit that I love the convenience of a ready made crust. (Shh, don't tell Natasha!)

Now, in the recipe, I'm going to say to follow the instructions on your crust, but I've discovered a little trick. My preferred brand says to prepare the pizza and bake it for 8 - 12 minutes. I've finally wised up. I put the pizza base in the oven plain (nothing on it at all) for about eight minutes. Then I put our toppings on it and bake it for another 10 minutes. What a difference! Such a nice crisp crust.

I used my favorite white goat Gouda, Cablanca, but our resident cheese expert, Avery Aames, tells me that Havarti or San Simon are great alternatives.

WALNUT PESTO

3 tablespoons walnuts

2 cups fresh basil leaves

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Chop the walnuts in a small food processor.  Add the basil leaves and garlic and pulse.  Slowly add the olive oil in a stream while pulsing or add in small amounts and pulse in between.  Add the parmesan cheese and pulse.  Add salt and pepper to taste and pulse one last time.

Cremini Mushroom White Pizza 

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium onion

1 8-ounce package Cremini mushrooms

1 pizza crust

walnut pesto 

1 - 1 1/2 cups low-fat mozzarella, shredded

1 cup Cablanca or Havarti or San Simon, shredded

Preheat the oven to 425 (or follow the instructions for your pizza crust -- read above regarding pre-baking the crust).

Slice the onions into rings. Heat the oil and saute the onions. Meanwhile slice the mushrooms. Add them to the onions.

Spread pesto over the pizza crust. Top with mushroom and onions. Sprinkle mozzarella over the pizza, then add the Cablanca.

Bake 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the pizza bubbles ever so slightly.

What's your favorite? White pizza or tomato sauce pizza? Deep dish or thin crust?