Smoked Chicken Pizza With Red Pepper Pesto
- Ready In:
- 1hr 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
8
ingredients
-
RED PEPPER SAUCE
- 1 head garlic, top third sliced off and discarded
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1⁄2 cup basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon oregano leaves
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
-
PIZZA
- 1 lb pizza dough
- all-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1⁄2 lb smoked chicken breast, shredded (2 cups)
- 1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 6 ounces manchego cheese, coarsely shredded (2 cups)
- 4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
- arugula leaf, for garnish
directions
-
MAKE THE RED PEPPER SAUCE:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the head of garlic, cut side up, on a double sheet of foil and drizzle with olive oil.
- Wrap the foil around the garlic and bake until the cloves are very soft, about 1 hour. Let cool.
- Squeeze the garlic onto a plate.
- Roast the red pepper directly over a gas flame or under the broiler, turning frequently, until charred all over.
- Transfer the pepper to a plate to cool. Discard the charred skin, seeds and core and coarsely chop the pepper.
- In a food processor, puree the pepper with the roasted garlic, basil, oregano and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
-
MAKE THE PIZZA:
- On a lightly floured work surface, cut the pizza dough into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
- Flatten each ball, dust with flour and roll out to a 5-inch round. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Set a pizza stone on the bottom of the oven and preheat the oven to 500° for at least 45 minutes. Flour a pizza peel.
- Place a dough round on the peel and roll it out to an 1/8-inch thickness. Spread 2 tablespoons of the red pepper sauce over the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge.
- Scatter 1/2 cup of the shredded chicken and one-fourth of the red pepper strips over the pizza, then top with 1/2 cup of the Manchego and 1/4 cup of the goat cheese.
- Slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake until browned on the bottom and bubbling on top, about 6 minutes.
- Transfer to a cutting board, scatter some arugula leaves on top and cut into pieces. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>My rating system: (I don't like giving bad reviews, so if I don't like it, I'll just not review it.) <br /><br />5 Stars OMG, this is one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten! I can't stop eating it, and I've eaten myself into a food coma. <br /><br />4 Stars The recipe is wonderful as is. I can't think of a single improvement and I will most likely make it again. <br /><br />3 Stars This needed a little *something*something*. I might make it again, but will add my own improvements if I do. <br /><br />I love to eat! And I love to cook. I tend to take over the kitchen when I get in there. Even the dog knows the command get outta my kitchen! LOL. Cooking for other people and trying new recipes or foods is FUN! I have a small (but growing quickly!!) cookbook collection and one of my favorite things to do is to read recipes and plan meals. Rachael Ray, Horn of the Moon and Moosewood are favorites of mine. <br /><br />We spend a lot of time outdoors camping, hiking and backpacking. Yup. I cook in the woods too! I've made deals with my hiking buddies... If they carry in my food, I'll cook for them. I recently published a backpacking cookbook. Check out the website: http://www.onepanwonders.com <br /><br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/200_PACpic.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/pacbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /><br /><br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/untitled.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting /> <img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/200_artistrichardneuman-art-prints_.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting /> <br /><br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/beartag_1_1.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting /> <img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/adopted_1_1.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting /> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/AnimatedPRD.gif alt= /> <img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/ZWT2.gif alt= /></p>