Grilled Fingerling Potato Pizza

Farm fresh potatoes are such a delight; we created this grilled fingerling potato pizza using potatoes found at the farmer's market, home-grown rosemary, salt, pepper, olive oil, and Gruyere cheese. I love how the various colors of the potatoes delight the eye, and the flavor is unbelievably good.  We have also made this pizza with diced pancetta which makes the pizza taste almost like a morning breakfast...in Italy.

 

Here's how to make it.  First, boil your potatoes until they are just done.  They should be firm, not too mushy.  You want the potatoes to hold their shape.  If you don't have fingerling potatoes, small new potatoes work well too.  Cut the potatoes into thin slices.  For the dough, we used dough from our restaurant, Mia's Pizza and Eats; you can of course make your own, buy from your grocer, or head to your favorite pizzeria and ask to buy a small dough ball.  Drizzle the dough with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, layer on the potatoes and the rosemary, add the pancetta (first fry it in a pan to crisp it), and top with shredded Gruyere; if you don't have Gruyere, a Swiss cheese or even a sharp cheddar would work well here too.   Cook on a pizza stone on your grill for about four minutes; check the pizza often and give it a 3/4 turn each minute.  You will love this combination!

Black and Bleu Pizza

Black and Bleu Pizza

• pizza dough
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• thinly sliced steak, cooked rare
• bleu cheese crumbles
• fresh thyme
• caramelized onions or fresh red onions
• portabella mushrooms (optional)
• fresh cilantro or parsley

The traditional Black and Bleu combination found in steakhouses just works, and it works like magic on pizza.  When making the pizza, we used olive oil and salt and pepper as our base.  Then we added rarely cooked flank steak that had been sliced thin.  You can use any leftover steak you have; I highly suggest that it not be cooked well before using it on this dish because it can dry out quickly.  Next we added the bleu cheese crumbles.  We also add fresh thyme and red onions.  We have also used caramelized red onions which add another level of flavor here, and I highly suggest taking the time to caramelize your onions (just saute in olive oil (don't skimp, use a fare amount) with salt and pepper until golden and brown (takes about 15 minutes) -- I also add a little brown sugar to quicken the process and develop the sweetness).  We have also added portabella mushrooms to the pizza which only adds to the depth of flavors, but they aren't needed.  I highly suggest that you finish the pizza by adding fresh cilantro or parsley to the pizza after it has cooked; this provides a note of freshness to the palate.