I figure a little bit of an update is in order since I started cooking pizzas on the Big Green Egg, and that I could use this opportunity to showcase one of my favorites. This last weekend we made a pizza that combines a wonderful savory flavor with the sweetness (not overwhelming) you get with fresh figs. Check this out:
We use James McNair's New Pizza cookbook for this recipe, reducing all of the ingredients significantly (particularly the pancetta--halve it) to keep the toppings lighter. Check out the recipe here on G3's website: http://gastronomical3.wordpress.com/2007/09/15/transitions/. Of course I'm a sucker for the pancetta, and the way that the leeks respond to the heat and begin to melt slightly into the mixture of ingredients is amazing.
Re the Big Green Egg, I'm still working on getting this right, but using a very high heat for short cooking periods is working well. Most take about 10 minutes, tops, and though it's possible to avoid the small amounts of black you see in the crust pictured, we actually like the taste and try to go for a tiny bit of scorching around the edges. 650 degrees is ideal, and having everything pre-heated is critical. Of course my BGE gasket is toast, but I haven't missed it.
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I'd also like to use this opportunity to publicly swear off the foofy recipe I published in one of my earliest entries. I've become convinced that simple is better or, better yet, simple is perfect. I've become devoted to the Forno Bravo pizza dough recipe, a simple mixture of flour, water, yeast and salt.
Posted by jpwilkin on October 13, 2008
Tags: pizza
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