Truffle cheese pizza

Braces = pizza around our house. Our family’s favorite Italian deli happens to be right by the orthodontist’s office. So when she’s done having her braces tightened we swing by Alesci’s for their refrigerated pizza dough.

As I was digging through the refrigerator for topping ideas I stumbled on our prized chunk of Trader Joe’s truffle cheese. The cheese has the consistency of sharp provolone speckled with bits of truffle for an earthy, umami flavor. A little goes a long way.

Recipe

Serves: 4-6 people

Prep time: 20 minutes + 20 minutes baking

Ingredients

1 lb. prepared pizza dough

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 cup fresh spinach

1/2 medium red onion, sliced thin

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup truffle cheese (or sharp provolone)

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Roll out the pizza dough to fill a 9″ round pan. Generously oil the pan and add the dough.
3. In a heavy-bottomed pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. *I saute the veggies in my cast iron skillet and then bake the pizza in the same skillet. Yeah for easy clean up!
   
4. Saute the mushroom and onions together in the heated oil until barely soft.
5. Lightly brush the pizza dough with olive oil.
6. Drain any extra liquid from the ricotta and then crumble it over the dough.
7. Add the mushroom mixture, then fresh spinach. Sprinkle with mozzarella and truffle cheeses.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Allow the pizza to sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Notes:

• Turn up the heat by adding a dash of cayenne pepper on your pizza before baking.
  
• I served the pizza drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It was perfection!
• My oldest daughter loved this veggie pizza but my younger kids opted for the standard pepperoni; their loss! (Admittedly, I didn’t push them too hard to try it because I really, really wanted leftovers. And this pizza is even better day two, cold.)

Getting the truffle pizza oven ready.