Chanterelles, Tomatoes & Garlic Scapes
Oven-roasted cherry tomatoes & chanterelle mushrooms, garlic scape pesto with walnuts & Parmesan cheese, fresh feta cheese, toasted pine nuts
Garlic scapes are such a great find this time of year. They make you feel like you went out and foraged for wild garlic even when you just walked down the street to the farmers' market. They're also super versatile and they go great with our chanterelle mushrooms (also a great find that we wished we had foraged for). You can, of course, use other mushrooms for this recipe, but the chanterelles are so beautiful and vibrant and their orange color is such a pretty contrast with the green pesto. Plus they taste nutty and delicious, nice and warm against the bright tomatoes and pesto. And I've convinced myself all over again: the chanterelles are worth it.
Recipe
Ingredients:
1 ball of pizza dough
flour for dusting
semolina flour for pizza stone
olive oil
salt & pepper
a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes
a handful of pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 hunk of feta, crumbled
8-10 ounces of chanterelle mushrooms
a few whole peppercorns (we used pink ones but you can just use what you have)
For the pesto*:
1 cup garlic scapes, sliced
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
salt & pepper, to taste
*You'll only need about a half cup of this for the pizza, so feel free to cut it down depending on how much you like leftover pesto
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400° F. Spread your tomatoes out in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Bake them for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are getting wrinkly and starting to burst open.
When the tomatoes are done, take them out and increase the oven temperature to 450° F. Toss the mushrooms with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt & some whole peppercorns. Roast them briefly, for about 5 minutes, until they are softened & lightly browned (don't overdo it—they'll be going back in the oven with the pizza). Take them out and increase your oven temperature to 550° F, or as hot as it will go.
Meanwhile, prepare your pesto. Pulse your walnuts & scapes in a food processor first to break up the larger pieces. Then, with the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil. Add the Parmesan, salt & pepper and pulse a couple more times until everything is combined and you have a fairly smooth consistency.
When your oven is hot, you can start preparing your dough using the instructions on the right. After you've baked it for a minute, take it out and brush it lightly with olive oil. Next, spread an even layer of the pesto across the whole pizza, followed by the crumbled feta, mushrooms, tomatoes & pine nuts. Bake until the crust is a nice golden brown, then take it out and enjoy!
Note: This recipe was adapted from another pizza we found online here—we switched up the cheese & pesto recipe and added a couple extra toppings.