Pizza with Mushrooms, Leeks, and Stinky Cheese
Most mushroom lovers are also fans of stinky cheese, and that's because both foods have similar flavors. This pizza gets its heady aroma and flavor from cooked mushrooms and leeks and unctuous, funky semi-soft cheese.
Makes: 1 (12- to 14-inch) pizza
Cost: $15
Equipment
- Cutting board and knife
- Skillet
- Rolling pin (optional)
- Large rimmed baking sheet or baking stone/steel
- Pizza peel (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 8 to 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 4 medium leeks, white and light green parts sliced into thin rings and rinsed well
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 (14- to 16-ounce) ball pizza dough
- 4 ounces creamy, stinky cheese (like blue cheese, taleggio, triple crème, or beer/wine-washed tomme), chopped, grated, or crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (if using a baking sheet) or as high as it will go (if using a baking stone/steel; place the stone/steel in the bottom third of the oven before you start preheating). Let the oven preheat for at least 30 minutes. Then, if you’re using a baking stone or steel, switch the oven to Broil on high.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and ¼ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they release their moisture and the pan starts to dry out again, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the leeks to the skillet and cook for about 2 minutes, or until they soften. Stir in the parsley and remove the skillet from the heat. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
- Stretch or roll out your dough to a 12- to 14-inch circle, then transfer it to an oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet or a lightly floured pizza peel (if using a baking stone/steel).
- Place the remaining tablespoon of butter in a bowl and melt it in the microwave, about 30 seconds. Spread the mushroom-leek mixture on the dough, leaving a ½-inch border of dough all around. Brush the exposed border of dough with the melted butter, and scatter the cheese over top of the vegetables.
- Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until the crust is golden and the cheese has browned in spots—8 to 10 minutes on the baking sheet, 6 to 8 minutes on the baking stone/steel.
- Remove the pizza from the oven; slice and serve.