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Eduardo Garcia's Forager’s Pizza

Forager’s Pizza

byEduardo Garcia
Total 35 mins, includes cooling time
Active 15 mins
Makes 1 pizza (2 to 4 servings)
TIP: Nettle pesto can be replaced with basil, spinach or arugula pesto. Mexican oregano can be replaced with Italian oregano. Pizza dough can be store-bought or purchased at your local pizzeria.
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 pound mixed wild mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • Semolina flour, as needed
  • 1/2 pound pizza dough
  • 1/4 cup No-Cook Pizza Sauce (recipe follows) or store-bought marinara sauce
  • 3/4 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tablespoons Nettle Pesto (recipe follows) or other pesto (see Cook’s Note)
  • 1/2 link cooked Mexican chorizo, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
  • 1/2 cup grated cotija cheese
    No-Cook Pizza Sauce
    • One 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes (see Cook’s Note)
    • 3 sprigs oregano
    • 2 sprigs basil
    • 1/4 red onion
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
      Nettle Pesto
      • 3 cups fresh nettles, leaves and tender stems (or other spicy or herbal greens; see Cook’s Note)
      • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the water and to taste
      • 1/2 cup basil leaves
      • 1/2 cup nasturtium leaves or baby arugula
      • 1/4 cup raw almonds
      • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
      • 1 clove garlic
      • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
        Directions
        1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Position one rack on the oven floor and one in the top third of the oven.
        2. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat another 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and salt to the hot pan and stir to combine. Cook the mushrooms, undisturbed, until browned, about 3 minutes. Stir the mushrooms so the browned mushrooms at the bottom are on top. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, another 4 minutes. Sprinkle in the onion and garlic and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and set aside.
        3. Lightly dust semolina flour on the bottom of an upside-down rimmed baking sheet. Stretch the dough into a 10-inch round, letting the dough fall and drape over your knuckles to stretch itself naturally. Place the round of dough on the floured tray. Dot the dough evenly with the pizza sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella then dot the mozzarella with the pesto. Scatter the chorizo on top. Spoon the mushroom mixture evenly over the pizza and sprinkle with the oregano. Finish with 1/4 cup of the cotija cheese. Place the tray on the bottom rack and bake for 5 minutes. Move the tray to the top rack and continue to bake until deep golden brown and crispy around the edges, 5 to 6 minutes.
        4. Remove the pizza to a board and top with the remaining 1/4 cup cotija. Cut into wedges or squares and serve.
        1. No-Cook Pizza Sauce
          1. In a medium bowl, crush the tomatoes using your hands. Remove and discard any hard bits that you may come across. Stir in the oregano sprigs, basil sprigs, red onion, olive oil and salt. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 2 hours or refrigerate for up to 3 days. Remove and discard the herb sprigs and onion before using.
          2. Cook's Note:
          3. San Marzano tomatoes are available in most grocery stores. Canned are better than fresh tomatoes for this recipe.
        1. Nettle Pesto
          1. Soak the nettles in a bowl of cold water and swish around a bit to clean off any dirt or little bugs that are clinging to the nettles.
          2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Cook the nettles until bright green and tender, about 30 seconds. Immediately place the nettles in the ice water to stop the cooking. Once the nettles have been blanched, they’re safe to handle. Squeeze as much of the moisture out of the nettles as you can. You should have about 1/2 cup blanched nettles.
          3. In a food processor, combine the nettles, basil, nasturtium leaves, almonds, olive oil, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Blend until all the nuts are chopped and the pesto reaches your desired consistency. Pulse in the Parmesan cheese. Taste the pesto and adjust the seasoning if needed. If the pesto is too thick, feel free to stream in a small amount of water to thin it slightly.
          4. Cook's Note:
          5. Carefully harvest wild nettles with gloves and clippers, or source them from your local farmers market. Wear gloves when handling stinging nettle, as it can irritate the skin. Once blanched, nettle is safe to handle.
          6. Nettles can be replaced with any herbaceous greens (arugula, basil, spinach, etc.).
          7. Nasturtium leaves can be replaced with any herbaceous greens.