White Pizza with Summer Stone Fruit + Heirloom Tomatoes
I know, I know. Fruit on pizza is kinda controversial. Some may even consider it sacrilege. Like death before pineapple on pizza type of feelings. But can I tell you a secret? I really love pineapple on pizza and most any sweet fruit for that matter. Do you? If it's a hard no, I got plenty of other pizza recipes for ya (psst! this one is bomb). If it's a yes: let's move on to today's main event.
I haven't made pizza in a minute and if you've been following along here for a while, you know it's one of my favorite things to make, like ever. So since we now find ourselves deep in the dog days of Summer, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to make a nice Summer variation. I love the simplicity of this pizza. We're making a simple and scrumptious cheese mixture as a little bed for all of Summer's finest bounty to nestle into and then we're just baking that sucker until cheesy, bubbly, and bursting with flavor. The cheese mixture is a simple combo of creamy ricotta, a little nutty fontina for flavor, and some mozzarella for obligatory ooey gooey purposes. A little garlic and fresh thyme round out the flavors nicely. As for the stone fruit, I used a mixture of apricots and peaches because that's what was looking good at my market but nectarines, plums, and even cherries would all be delicious, too. And do we really need another excuse to use those juicy heirloom tomatoes? Yes, yes we do. And then we'll drizzle a little balsamic honey over the whole thing for a little acidity and richness and call it a day. I couldn't decide whether to drizzle over a balsamic glaze or honey so I decided to combine the two but feel free to use one or the other (or neither!) too!
A quick note on the method for making the pizza here: I used my favorite method from Brad Leone, the test kitchen manager for Bon Appetit because it's genius and you'll get perfectly crisp crust every time. (Reminder: if you're not watching Brad's "It's Alive!" series on Bon Appetit's YouTube, get on it. He's so funny and you'll learn a lot, too!) . It's basically the only pizza making method I'll use at home now until I design my dream kitchen someday and include a wood-fired pizza oven (you think I'm kidding). Happy pizza making and let me know if you make it! Don't forget to share on Instagram using #allpurposeflourchild and be sure to tag me! I'd love to see!
White Pizza with Summer Stone Fruit + Heirloom Tomatoes
makes 1 12 inch pizza
16 oz (1 lb) store-bought pizza dough, room temperature (or homemade if you have a favorite recipe)
1-2 T olive oil, for drizzling on crust
1 T all purpose flour, plus more for flouring work surface
2 T cornmeal
1 t granulated sugar
3/4 c whole milk ricotta, room temperature (it will be easier to spread)
1/2 c fontina cheese, grated
1/4 c low-moisture mozzarella cheese (not fresh), grated
1/2 t fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
flaky salt, for sprinkling on crust
1 medium/largish heirloom tomato, thinly sliced (whatever shape, size, and variety you'd like!)
1/2 c stone fruit, halved, pitted, and thinly sliced (I used a combination of apricots and peaches)
large handful fresh basil, roughly torn
1/2 t balsamic vinegar
1 T honey
set the scene
Preheat oven as high as it will go and let it heat for about an hour. My oven goes up to 550 F. On a lightly floured surface, gently stretch the dough out with your hands (no need for a rolling pin here) into a large circle, about 1/2 inch thick, leaving the outer edges a little thicker for the crust. In a small bowl, mix together the tablespoon of flour, cornmeal, and sugar and set aside. This will be our little mixture to coat the skillet with to prevent the pizza from sticking. The cornmeal and sugar make for an extra crispy bottom crust! Don't worry, it won't add any sweetness, though.
make the pizza
Place a 10 or 12 inch cast-iron skillet on the stove and let it pre-heat over medium-high heat. Alternatively, if you don't have a cast-iron skillet you could just bake your pizza on a cookie sheet and skip the pre-heating on the stove step, no problem. It just won't get as crispy as it does when made in cast iron. Although you should invest in one because it's invaluable and affordable and lasts forever! This is the one I used here and I absolutely love it but here's a more affordable one I also have that works just as well!
In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, fontina, mozzarella, chopped thyme, and garlic and mix together until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir again. Make sure all your ingredients are ready to go and at arm's length then when oven is fully pre-heated, sprinkle the skillet with enough of the cornmeal/sugar/flour mixture to just cover the bottom of the skillet. Carefully lay in the dough, adjusting it to fit in the pan. It should go up the sides of the pan a little, too depending on the size skillet you're using.
Working quickly, drizzle on enough olive oil to just coat the entire surface of the crust and sprinkle the outer crust with a little flaky salt. Let the dough cook on the stove for just a minute or two, until the center just starts to bubble. Spread on the cheese mixture, leaving about a 1 inch border around the edges for the crust. Top with stone fruit and heirloom tomato slices. Bake pizza for about 8-10 minutes, until puffed and deep golden brown. Remove skillet from oven and using tongs or a heat-proof spatula, immediately transfer the pizza to a wire rack. Top with torn basil leaves then let the pizza cool for about 10 minutes or so. This is probably the most excruciating part of making homemade pizza because it's smelling delicious and all you want to do it dig in but you know you're just gonna get third degree burns in your mouth from the cheese. So let the pizza transform from a blazing hot, floppy mess to a crisp, gooey masterpiece and wait the 10 minutes. You'll be happy you did. While it's cooling, stir together the honey and balsamic and drizzle over the pizza when it's finished cooling. Slice it up and enjoy!
