Blueberry pizza?? Sounds pretty strange but it's good, trust me. Blueberries, because they aren't terribly sweet, are well-suited to more savory applications and this pizza was inspired by a blueberry-balsamic chutney (recipe here) I made in 2012 (and make every year because it's really good on brie or sharp cheddar). Sunday night is pizza night around here and since it's been so hot lately, topping this pizza with arugula and avocado seemed like a 'summery' addition to our repitoire.
Summer is not my favorite season, I'm more of a fire in the wood stove/snowstorm/dark at 5 PM kind of woman, but I love being able to walk outside to the garden and grab a handful of fresh herbs, a few tomatoes, or a yellow squash. And to be truthful, my gardening skills are pretty meager -- I'm a Darwinian gardener, which means if it can't survive with a fair amount of benign neglect, it's probably going to have a rough go of it in my garden. Which is why I stick to herbs and squash -- they are resilient and are perfect examples of the old adage, bloom where you're planted. And it's also why I love picking up my weekly box from the Lake Superior CSA folks -- we get all sorts of good food in our kitchen, in spite of my lackluster gardening/food-growing skills!
Pizza with Balsamic Roasted Blueberries, Arugula, and Avocado
Makes 2 pizzas
Pizza Dough (you'll have extra pizza dough leftover, this recipe makes enough for about 7 or 8 pizzas)
3 cups warm water
1/3 cup olive oil
1½ tablespoon yeast (I use SAF red instant yeast)
1½ tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar (white or raw)
7 cups bread flour
Pizza Topping
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, divided
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for the pizza dough
1/2 red onion, sliced
1/2 avocado. peeled and sliced
1/2 cup Sassy Nanny chèvre, divided
2 cups of arugula, divided
1 tablespoon lemon thyme, leaves removed from stem but not chopped (can substitute regular thyme)
1 tablespoon basil, chopped
Kosher salt and pepper
Preparation
To make the dough, combine the water, oil, yeast, salt, and sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the flour and mix until it comes together, about 3 minutes using the dough hook of the stand mixer, longer if mixing by hand. Knead for 5 minutes (with stand mixer or by hand); cover loosely and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough doubles in volume, about 2 hours.
When ready to assemble the pizzas, preheat the oven to 400°F and line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Toss the blueberries with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with a little kosher salt, and place on the tray. Roast until just tender and starting to burst, about 10 minutes. Set aside (the blueberries can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use).
Raise the oven temperature to 450°F and place a pizza stone in the oven. Heavily flour a work surface. Remove a tennis ball–sized piece of dough from the larger ball and roll it out into a 12-inch round on work surface. Using a fork, poke holes in the crust. Transfer the crust onto a pizza peel or a parchment-lined baking sheet without a lip.
Sprinkle olive oil on the pizza dough and spread to cover the entire pizza. Place 1/2 of the sliced red onions, chèvre and roasted blueberries on the pizza and then carefully place the pizza on the pizza stone and bake until the edges of the crust are brown and the onions are beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. While the pizza is in the oven, place the arugula and the remaining balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a bowl, season with salt and pepper toss to combine. Set aside.
When the pizza is done, remove from oven and place half of the arugula on top, followed by the half of the avocado, and serve immediately.
