Mushroom Pesto Grilled Pizza Food

GRILLED FRENCH BREAD PIZZA WITH MUSHROOM PESTO AND FONTINA CHEESE

Steps:

• Place the porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until softened, 30 minutes.
• Heat the grill to high.
• Brush the cremini or white button mushroom caps with the canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms on the grill, cap side down and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the caps over and continue grilling until the mushrooms are cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from the grill, let cool slightly then coarsely chop.
• Remove the porcinis from the soaking liquid and place in the bowl of a food processor with a few tablespoons of the soaking liquid. Add cremini mushrooms, garlic pulp, walnuts, parsley and thyme in a food processor and process until finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly add 1/2 cup of the olive oil and process until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the Romano cheese and pulse a few times to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.
• Brush the bread on the cut side with the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Evenly spread the pesto over the cut side of each half of bread. Top the pesto with the fontina cheese, return to the grill, cheese side up, close the cover of the grill and cook until the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the grill and sprinkle with the remaining Romano.

GRILLED PESTO PIZZA

Steps:

• Preparation instructions:
• Prepare the dough: Whisk 1 cup warm water (about 105 degrees F) and the sugar in
• a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over top. Let stand until foamy, about 10
• minutes. Stir in olive oil.
• Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, pour in the
• yeast mixture and stir to make a shaggy dough. Place dough on a floured surface
• and knead about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic, adding just enough flour
• to prevent it from sticking. Form into a ball, place in a large oiled bowl, turning to
• coat with the oil. Turn seam-side down and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at
• room temperature about 1 hour, 30 minutes, until doubled in size. Meanwhile,
• preheat a grill to medium high (if using a charcoal grill, bank the coals to one
• side) and grill the toppings.
• Add vegetables to grill, cook until tender or:
• Onion: Cut 1 medium red onion into 8 wedges. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil
• and season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning, until soft, about 10 minutes; slice.
• Mushrooms: Toss 8 oz. stemmed shiitake mushrooms with 3 tablespoons olive
• oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning, until soft, about 2 minutes per
• side; cut in half.
• Remove and arrange the grilled vegetables on a baking sheet, season with salt
• and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Add the remaining toppings to the baking
• sheet; place near the grill.
• Grill Sausage, remove and coin slice.
• Reduce the grill heat to medium-low (on a charcoal grill, spread the coals into
• a single layer and let cool until they are covered in a light gray ash). Divide the
• dough in half and dust the dough and work surface with flour. Roll each piece
• into a 7 x 12" rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Brush baking sheet with olive oil
• and place both crusts on it. Lift each piece by the corners and place on the grill,
• oiled-side down; cook about five minutes until the dough puffs and the underside
• is stiff and marked.
• Flip the dough with tongs, brush with olive oil, spread with the pesto sauce and
• top with mozzarella. Arrange the grilled vegetables and sliced sausage on top.
• Cover and cook about five more minutes or until the cheese melts.
• Remove pizzas from grill and transfer the pizzas to a cutting board. Top with the
• greens, basil, a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Cut and enjoy!
• *Always cook sausage to internal temperature of 160 degrees F