The Chard To Resist Pizza

To prepare Porcini Shallot Topping, place dried porcini in bowl and cover with steaming water. Allow to rehydrate and soften. Strain porcini, reserving liquid for use in Pizza Dough. Chop porcini. Heat olive oil over medium heat in large, heavy skillet. Add shallots; cook stirring often, until tender and just beginning to color, about 10 minutes. Add thyme, garlic, porcini, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and reduce heat to low; cook about 15 minutes until shallots are golden brown and very sweet and soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

To prepare Pizza Dough, place water and yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer. Let sit, stirring occasionally until yeast is dissolved. Add 13 ounces bread flour, rye flour and wheat germ. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Wrap tightly with plastic. Set dough aside at room temperature (68° to 70°F) for 90 minutes.

Add porcini liquid (reserved from Porcini Shallot Topping), the remaining 13 ounces bread flour and the hot honey. Fit mixer with dough hook; mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Add salt; mix on medium speed for 6 to 8 minutes until dough starts to pull away from sides of bowl. Add more flour as necessary. Turn dough out into well oiled bowl. Wrap and set aside for 45 minutes.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Fold edges of dough towards the center. Turn the dough over and return it, folded side down, to the bowl. Cover and set aside for another 45 minutes.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface again. Divide dough into six equal portions. Using lightly floured hands, gather each portion into a taut ball. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet, cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Remove dough the following day and let warm to room temperature and complete its final proof for 60-90 minutes.

To prepare Ricotta Chard Sauce, remove leaves from chard, wash and roughly chop. Reserve stems for use in Pickled Chard Stems recipe. Add olive oil to a hot pan; add red pepper flakes and smashed garlic clove. When oil is smoking, add chard leaves; sauté 1-2 minutes, until they start to turn color. Turn down heat and cover for another 3 minutes to wilt and cook down. Remove from heat and chop the chard medium-fine. Combine with ricotta cheese, mezzo secco cheese and egg yolk. Set aside.

To prepare Pickled Chard Stems, rinse and trim ends of stems. Thinly slice stems diagonally then place in glass jar. Combine vinegar, water, salt, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds and bay leaf in saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour brine over stems in jar, being sure to cover stems completely. Allow to cool to room temperature and pickle for at least 2 hours or up to 2 weeks.

To prepare Pizza, preheat oven with pizza stone on floor of oven at 500°F for at least 1 hour. Generously flour a peel and place 1 round of proofed dough on center of floured surface. Dust dough with flour. Push, lift and stretch dough to create a 10-inch circle. Drizzle with grapeseed oil and place in oven. Bake 5-7 minutes or just until surface begins to brown. Slide peel under crust, remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Flip crust and brush excess flour from surface. Build pizza using the bottom of the par baked crust as the top.

Spread Ricotta Chard Sauce over pizza crust leaving a 1-inch border. Spread Porcini Shallot Topping over ricotta sauce. Top the porcini mixture with 1/4 cup shredded white cheddar.

Return pizza to hot oven; bake for 6-8 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and begins to brown on top. Remove pizza from oven, top with Pickled Chard Stems. Slice before serving.

Recipe developed by Ricky Webster, Sysco Spokane, Post Falls, ID