Vegetable and Gruyere Pizza

If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time I've done a blog post about pizza. I don't often do traditional New York-style pizza, just because it's nearly impossible to recreate. So when I do make pizza, I tend to do more unique combinations of toppings, doughs, and cheeses. Hence my latest creation -- Vegetable and Gruyere Pizza. 

I had just gotten over a really nasty stomach bug, and wanted something a little light, with lots of vegetables, so I decided to make a vegetable pizza. I was cooking for my husband and my sister, and most of the vegetables I wanted to put on got vetoed, so the list got narrowed down to green peppers, mushrooms and red onions. Gruyere is quickly becoming my favorite cheese, and it goes so well with mushrooms, so that was an easy choice. Again staying with the healthy theme, I wanted more of a whole wheat dough. The grocery store had plain and whole wheat, but my eye caught a very seedy multi-grain dough that sounded fun. At least to me, it did. I brought it home to many moans and grumbles from the peanut gallery, who were quickly won over after the first bite.

Source

My head, for once!

Yield 
1 pizza, approximately 12 x 12, enough for 3 people plus leftovers.

Ingredients

1 lb. raw Pizza dough, multi-grain 

8 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded

1/2 Green pepper

1 small Red onion

6 oz. Baby bella mushrooms

1/2 tbsp. Butter or oil

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 450 with a pizza stone in it. A pizza stone is, of course, optional, but it makes such a difference that I highly recommend it.

Allow the dough to rise. While it's rising, shred the cheese, chop the pepper and onion, and slice the mushrooms. I like a small dice for the pepper and onion so that you get all of it in each bite. Sautee the mushrooms in the butter or oil until they're very soft. Mushrooms release an incredible amount of water as they cook, so if they're not completely cooked when you put them on the pizza, you'll be left with very soggy pizza crust.

Once the dough is risen, stretch it out to pizza shape (laying cornmeal down first helps it from sticking), and cover it in 3/4 of the Gruyere. Not only is this incredibly tasty, but it gives a bit of a barrier between the mushrooms and the crust. 

I like to make sure there's lots of cheese overlapping the edges of the dough, too, for a really cheesy crust.

Next top with the peppers and onions

and then the mushrooms.

Finally finish off with the remaining 1/4 of the Gruyere,

and bake until the under side of the dough is browning and crispy.

It's going to be a little loose, so I recommend letting it sit for a good 10 minutes or so before cutting it.

This dish turned out really fantastic. The savory Gruyere was cut by the crisp vegetables, and the dough was really hearty and just slightly sweet, which worked so well with the cheese all along the crust.

The next day this was great as a leftover lunch, even at room temperature. While I had some misgivings about the multi-grain dough, it ended up being terrific, and not at all like cardboard. Can't wait to use it again!