So Cal Pizza

 

What can I say? We love pizza. If someone asks our favorite food to cook or what our specialty is, look no further than the goodness that is artisan pizza.

While certainly not a health food in itself, pizza made at home is usually healthier than restaurant fare since you can control the amount of cheese and toppings. So Cal pizza is especially full of nutritious topping ingredients: peppers, tomatoes, onion, and avocado, with dollops of soft goat cheese. It’s a take on the pizza of the same name served here in Indianapolis at Jockomo’s, and inspired by our dear friend Katelyn.

When Katelyn started cooking with us for blog shoots a few years ago, she quickly went from knowing little about the kitchen to mincing garlic and whipping up pizza dough like a pro. She’s a constant friend and supporter, helping us from time to time with things like food prep, taste testing, and hand modeling (that’s her hand above). As much fun as it is for us to cook just the two of us, it’s even more fun when we have sweet friends to chat with while we work and share the experience. Katelyn has been along for the ride on so many of our recipes, and she’s always giving us new ideas. Thank you, Katelyn, for the So Cal pizza and the years you’ve helped behind the scenes. We love you!

And, we love this pizza. The goat cheese makes it particularly delightful; in all our years of artisan pizza making, we haven’t frequented using goat cheese, but it will definitely be making repeat appearances on pizza night. Speaking of, we’ve started an informal tradition of pizza night on Thursdays instead of Fridays; it’s been a nice way to celebrate almost making it to the end of the week. How about you – do you have any pizza traditions? We’d love to hear in the comments.

So Cal Pizza

by: a Couple Cooks

Serves: 1 pizza

What You Need

• 1 pizza dough
• 2 cloves garlic
• ¼ red pepper
• ¼ yellow pepper
• ¼ small red onion
• 8 to 10 leaves fresh basil
• 15-ounce can fire-roasted or San Marzano crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 ounces soft goat cheese
• ½ avocado
• Kosher salt

What To Do

1. Prepare the dough using either the stand mixer or food processor methods (you also can knead by hand; follow this video instruction for more). Follow the preparation instructions in the dough recipe if prepared in advance.
2. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F.
3. Prepare the toppings: Mince the garlic, thinly slice ¼ red pepper, ¼ yellow pepper, and ¼ red onion. Thinly slice (chiffonade) the basil leaves.
4. When the oven is ready, stretch the dough into a circle (see this video for instructions). Place the dough on a floured pizza peel or pull the pizza stone out of the oven and carefully place the dough on it.
5. Quickly assemble the pizza: Spread a thin layer of tomatoes onto the dough, then sprinkle on the minced garlic. Top with about 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Then add sliced peppers, onions, and dollops of goat cheese. Cut an avocado in half, then scoop out small pieces of avocado onto the pizza. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
6. Bake the pizza: Transfer the pizza to the oven on the pizza peel, and bake until the cheese is melted, about 7 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then garnish with basil and serve.