Summer Veggie Pizza

There are so many reasons I love summer, including the delicious sweet corn that grows prolifically here in New Jersey. We've been eating it at least once a week, just boiled in water for three or four minutes. 

With one of the leftover ears, I was inspired to make a summer pizza using more terrific Jersey produce - (we are the "Garden State" after all!) after seeing something similar on my friend Stacey's blog. 

The first time I tried it, I also added some zucchini and a bit of anchovy - just enough to give it a zing. 

I can just hear those of you who are anchovy averse turning off at this point. But wait - the second time I made it, I added small cherry tomatoes and pancetta in addition to the corn and zucchini. In both cases, I used fresh oregano and basil (and mozzarella cheese of course).

For all you vegetarians, you can skip the anchovies or the pancetta and it will still be delicious, provided you have sweet corn in season.

Although I used a perforated pizza pan to bake the pizzas at a high temperature, the bottom crust just wasn't getting browned enough. So after about 12 minutes at 475 degrees, I slipped the pizza off the pan and slid it directly onto the lowest of the oven's wire racks for a few more minutes. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn on the bottom.

It worked beautifully and created a crispy, crunchy bottom crust, without burning the toppings.

So take your pick and choose either surf (anchovies):

or turf (pancetta). In either case, you'll want to try this corn pizza while fresh corn is at its peak.

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Summer Veggie Pizza

printed recipe here   

 

pizza dough (your own recipe or store-bought)

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (or several balls of fresh mozzarella, sliced)

1 ear of corn, kernels scraped (either raw or leftover boiled)

1 small zucchini (or half of a large zucchini), sliced thinly and salted

either - 2 anchovies in oil or 6 thin slices of pancetta, fried until crispy 

8-10 red or yellow cherry tomatoes, cut in half

fresh basil

fresh oregano

black pepper 

olive oil 

 

Whether using your own homemade dough, or store-purchased dough, put it in a bowl smeared with oil and let it come to room temperature and rest for about an hour. Punch it down and spread it out over a large perforated pizza pan. 

Scatter the mozzarella over the dough, then place the zucchini and corn kernels and/or cherry tomatoes on top .

If using anchovies, lay them in a few places across the pizza. Do the same if using the pancetta.

Sprinkle with the fresh herbs and black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

Bake at 475 degrees for 10-12 minutes. If the dough is not browning on the bottom, slide the pizza from the pan directly onto the lowest rack of the oven. Let it bake for another 3-5 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn't burn.