Salsa Verde Pizza with Goat Cheese and Bacon
Pizza de Salsa Verde, Queso de Cabra y Tocino
Makes one large pizza, serving 4
From Season 8 Mexico - One Plate at a Time
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup room-temperature water
1/3 cup beer—a light lager is good here
A few tablespoons good-quality olive oil
2/3 cup Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
A couple of very thin slices of red onion
4 ounces goat cheese, coarsely crumbled into roughly 1/2-inch pieces
3 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and coarsely crumbled
OR 4 ounces Mexican chorizo sausage, casing removed and cooked thoroughly
2 tablespoons grated Mexican queso anejo, Romano or Parmesan
A handful of cilantro leaves
1. Make the dough. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, yeast and salt. Measure in the water and beer. Stir to combine everything into a rough-looking mass. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.
2. Form, bake and serve the pizza. Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Generously oil a 13 x 18 rimmed baking sheet (what’s called a “half sheet pan”). Use a rubber spatula to gently deflate the dough and scrape it out onto the baking sheet. Gently coax the dough—nudging and tugging—into an even rectangle about 9 by 13 inches.
Spread on the sauce, leaving a 1-inch border around the outside. Scatter on the bacon, sliced onion and crumbled goat cheese. Bake in the middle of the oven until puffy and brown, about 25 minutes.
Sprinkle with queso anejo and cilantro leaves, cut in squares and carry to your lucky guests.
