Mushroom and Leek Pizza

Looks as if I am on a cast iron skillet kick, doesn’t it? As it turns out this pizza and the cornbread (in my previous post) are the only two things I make in my cast iron skillet. And to be honest, I would’ve never thought to make either in a cast iron skillet – thank you Martha Stewart for opening my eyes! This technique for making a pizza is brilliant, you don’t have to deal with pizza stones or anything else, just a skillet.

This pizza is delicious. The mushroom and leek combination is wonderful, the fontina cheese melts beautifully and the prosciutto, which doesn’t even actually cook, takes it over the top with a slightly salty punch. Heaven. And you know what else is heaven? I bought the pizza dough. I could certainly make it myself, but why would I? I have an infant that occupies demands 98% of my time and the pizza place around the corner happily sells me the dough they have made to perfection.

This pizza is leagues above any frozen pizza out there and cooks in almost the same amount of time. Why wouldn’t you make this?

Here’s what you will need to make one small pizza…

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large leek, white and pale green parts only, sliced
• 1 package crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups fontina cheese, grated
• 3-4 thin slices prosciutto, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1 small pizza dough (I get it drizzled with olive oil)
• *10 inch cast iron skillet

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

First get started on the leek. Using the white and pale green parts only, slice the leek down the center lengthwise, then slice crosswise into 1/2 moons. Place in a deep bowl and rinse under cold water once or twice, running your fingers through the leeks, breaking them apart. Fill up the bowl with cold water and let the leeks sit for a few minutes. Any remaining grit will sink to the bottom of the bowl.

Carefully scoop out the leeks, being sure to not disturb the water below. Lay on a kitchen towel to dry a bit.

While the leeks are sitting in the water, clean and slice your mushrooms.

In a medium skillet (not the cast iron skillet) melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms to the pan as well as the remaining tablespoon of butter. Saute until the mushrooms soften, 4-5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. While the mushrooms are cooking, shred the fontina cheese. (It helps to put the cheese in the freezer for about 20 minutes before shredding).

I love mushrooms.

Pour 1 tablespoon of oil in the middle of the cast iron skillet and spread it all around, coating the entire bottom as well as a portion of the sides. (I use a pastry brush for this). Lay the pizza dough in the skillet and flatten and stretch out with your fingertips. The edges of the dough should cover the entire bottom of the skillet.

Turn the flame on to medium under the cast iron skillet. Lay about 1 cup of fontina cheese on the pizza dough. Then top the cheese with the mushroom mixture (I usually have some leftover, good for throwing into a frittata or for snacking). Finally, add the rest of the fontina on top of the mushrooms. Allow the pizza to cook on the stove top for approximately 4-5 minutes. You will notice the bottom starting to brown.

Now transfer the skillet into the oven. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes, being careful not to burn the pizza. Take the skillet out of the oven and scatter the prosciutto pieces over the top of the pizza. Slice and serve!

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.