Artichoke, ‘Nduja, + Fresh Mozzarella Pizza
This post is sponsored by Metropolitan Market. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support me!
One thing you need to know about me: making homemade pizza is one of my all-time favorite activities. It’s one of my favorite meals, too, sure, but notice I said activities. Something about the process is so fun and satisfying. This particular pie is exceptionally good, I must admit. It’s so simple, too and comes together quickly so you can totally make this on a weeknight or just a moment’s notice. The key: start with really good ingredients. I know this kinda goes without saying but I’m saying it anyway.
I’m so excited to team up with my friends at Metropolitan Market today to share The Best of Met: a collection of the best products Met Market has to offer! I’ve been shopping there as long as I can remember and it’s one of my happy places. My mom and I used to go shopping in the beautiful Proctor district in the North end of Tacoma and we’d always pop into the Met Market there and spend hours leisurely browsing all the specialty goodies and take home way too many delicious things. Now it’s my go-to source for all the little things that will make my recipes and styling special. Their floral selection is unreal and I’ve made friends with the floral ladies which is always a good thing. If I need an exquisite stem-on fruit or fancy sprinkle, exceptional cheese, or perfect loaf of local bread, I’m there.
The Best of Met is a collection of over 100 carefully curated products that the Met Market’s Culinary Council put together to celebrate their favorite products, and the producers and stories behind them. It was hard to only pick my top 10 but I somehow did it and I picked a few of my absolute faves to feature in this delicious pizza: Met Market’s own hand-stretched mozzarella with is made fresh daily in-store and Met Market’s Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. With so few ingredients, these make this pizza top notch. I also picked up some ‘nduja and jarred artichoke hearts, and fresh basil while I was shopping to complete the pizza. If you can’t find nduja, you can also use any sort of salami or pepperoni you like on pizza. Although I will say ‘nduja worth picking up, if you can. It’s a new-ish to me product and man is it good! It has this funky tang to it and the right amount of spice! So delicious with the oozy mozzarella and meaty artichoke hearts. Let me know if you make this pizza and I hope you enjoy! And if you’re local to the Seattle area, be sure to check out the whole Best of Met collection and pop into your neighborhood store to find your favorites and scroll down to the end of this post for the rest of my picks!
Artichoke, ‘Nduja, + Fresh Mozzarella Pizza
serves 2-3
1 lb store-bought pizza dough (or your favorite homemade recipe), room temperature
1 t cornmeal
Met Market Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling on dough
Himalayan pink salt (kosher’s fine too)
1/4 c canned crushed tomatoes
3 oz Met Market Fresh-Stretched Mozzarella, patted dry and torn into about 2-inch pieces
1/4 c jarred or canned artichoke hearts, drained, patted dry, and quartered
1 oz ‘nduja, crumbled into about 1/2 teaspoon-sized dollops
1-2 t freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
handful fresh basil
Preheat your oven as high as it will go (about 500 F- 550, usually). Let it preheat for at least 30 minutes or so after the oven beeps and tells you it’s up to temp. It never is so giving it a little longer to get good and hot in there will ensure perfectly baked pizza.
Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet on medium heat until warm and then shut off the heat. Stretch the dough gently with your hands (no rolling pin necessary!) into about a 12-inch round. This is where having the dough at room temperature really helps hand stretching it. Sprinkle the cornmeal in a thin, even layer in the bottom of the skillet then gently lay in the dough. Drizzle a glug of olive oil on the dough and spread evenly with your hands. Season the dough with salt then dollop on the tomatoes, spreading out evenly with the back of a spoon, leaving about a 1-inch border for the outer crust. Arrange the mozzarella in an even layer then arrange the artichoke hearts and ‘nduja evenly over the pizza. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until crust has puffed and turned golden brown and cheese is melty and bubbly. Remove from oven and transfer pizza to a cutting board. Immediately sprinkle over the Parmigiano Reggiano and the basil leaves. Let cool a minute or two then slice up and enjoy!
note: Alternatively, you can also just bake your pizza on a baking sheet!
My Best of Met Top 10 Picks
Metropolitan Market Whole Rotisserie Chicken | perfectly cooked and so easy to pick up and have on hand to add to salads, sandwiches or just to snack on!
Metropolitan Market Rosé | One of the best rosés I’ve ever had and very affordable!
Metropolitan Market Organic Large AA Brown Eggs | Gorgeous free-range eggs from a local, environmentally sustainable farm.
Bonafide Provisions Organic Chicken Bone Broth | This is the best store-bought bone broth ever!
Metropolitan Market Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil | So incredibly delicious and the quality is unbeatable.
Metropolitan Market Balsamic Vinegar | This stuff is good on pizza, poached eggs, charcuterie boards, you name it!
Metropolitan Market Italian Sparkling Mineral Water | I am a sparkling water fiend and this stuff is perfectly crisp and the flavor is so clean.
Metropolitan Market Quarter Skagit Valley Miche | Such a perfect loaf made from local-milled grains! Perfect for toast.
Cypress Grove Chevre Humboldt Fog Bloomy Rind Cheese | This is one of my favorite cheeses to include on a cheese board. It’s creamy and tangy and perfect with some honey drizzled over.
Metropolitan Market Fresh-Stretched Mozzarella | It doesn’t get much fresher than this! I love to use this on pizza, of course, and fresh Caprese salads with juicy Summer tomatoes!
