zucchini pizza

Hi.  My name is Jillian and I’m addicted to zucchini.  I know a wholesome looking girl such as myself doesn’t fit the profile of a hard-core addict, but it’s true.  I’ve come clean with a few zucchini recipes here on the blog, but there are others I’ve been keeping from you, hoping to avoid judgment of my lifestyle choices.  I’m sure many of you will now be concerned with how I’ll overcome my addiction and I truly appreciate your interest in my well being.  You’ll be happy to know that I’ve started going to meetings and working with a sponsor….plus zucchini season is pretty much over so that may very well take care of the problem.

I’m going to make a bold statement here.  This is my current favorite pizza.  Yes, of all the pizzas I’ve had, this is my favorite to date.  It’s incredibly simple and minimal and yet so full of flavor.  I’ve made this pizza probably 5 times in the last couple of months.  No joke!  Part of the reason for this was my search for the perfect crust.  It became more of a quest really.  It consumed me and I couldn’t stop until I found the right one.  Lucky for you, and my waistline, I finally found it.  A recipe that yields a very thin, crispy crust.  Thin is in people.  For pizza crust that is!

I try to avoid fussy recipes most of the time.  By that I mean, recipes that either have a ridiculous amount of ingredients or that require a lot of pre-planning and prep work.  When I first read this recipe for pizza dough I had the immediate thought that it was way too complicated and basically brushed it aside.  But as I kept trying different recipes that weren’t resulting in a very thin crust I eventually came back to this one.  Thank god I did because it was perfect and truth be told, it’s really not complicated at all.  It does require that you make the dough one day before you want to use it so it can sit in the fridge overnight, but other than that the actual recipe is hardly different from any other you’ll find for pizza dough.

Zucchini Pizza (serves 3 – 4)

adapted from Ian Knauer’s Farm to Table

• 2 medium sized zucchini
• 2 tsp. kosher salt plus more for seasoning
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• cornmeal for sprinkling
• pizza dough – I followed Heidi’s recipe

A note on the pizza dough recipe, I halved it as I didn’t think I needed 6 balls of pizza dough lying around tempting me.  I haven’t tried Heidi’s recommendation of freezing the dough, but I’m curious as to how that would turn out and may try it in the future.  You can certainly use store-bought pizza dough if you’re not into making your own.  Also, if you already have a favorite pizza dough recipe then by all means, use it.

Trim zucchini and thinly slice crosswise using a mandolin.  Transfer the zucchini slices to a colander and set it in the sink.  Toss the zucchini with the salt and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Rinse the zucchini, then very gently squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet or pizza pan.  Sprinkle the parchment with cornmeal.  This will help keep the dough from sticking, plus I love the texture it adds to the crust.  When your dough is ready, stretch it out into a round or rectangular shape and set it on your parchment lined pan.

Drizzle some of the olive oil on the dough, just enough to evenly coat the surface with a thin layer.  Sprinkle half of cheese evenly over dough. Scatter zucchini, garlic, and red pepper flakes evenly on top. Sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining oil.

Bake pizza until the underside is well browned and the dough is cooked through, 14-18 minutes.