Congrats to Joy D. the winner of the Wonderful Summer Snacking Giveaway!
Mmm, pizza. One of my favorite foods. There is so much you can do with it- from varying the toppings to experimenting with crusts and I love that it’s so satisfying. I’m typically a red-sauce pizza girl, but I branched out this time and made a ricotta based topping instead of typical tomato sauce for these mushroom, onion and arugula pizzas. I saw this recipe in one of my recent Cooking Light issues and thought it would be something different than our usual homemade pizza. It was pretty tasty, although now I have to figure out what to do with this giant container of leftover ricotta. Any ideas?
What made the pizza extra yummy were these fresh mushrooms that I was sent from FreshMushrooms.com, a variety of portobello mushroom caps and white mushrooms which are shipped straight from their farm in Pennsylvania.
I especially love portobello mushrooms- the flavor and the fact that you can do so much with them. Turn them into a burger, saute them as a side, make stuffed mushrooms, etc. Button mushrooms are great to have around though for omelettes, to top burgers with or to use in a veggie stir fry. I used both types on my pizzas. You can order a variety of mushrooms online and they will be shipped straight from their farm to you in an insulated package.
Think mushrooms have no nutritional value? Think again. Mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free and very low in sodium, yet they provide important nutrients including selenium, riboflavin, niacin, ergothioneine (a naturally occurring antioxidant known for it’s role in the immune system) and more. They are also a good source of potassium and naturally occurring vitamin D (they are in fact the only plant based foods that contain vitamin D although the amount does vary by type).
Mushrooms are a great sub for high-energy density foods such as ground beef or steak. They add a great meaty taste and nice texture to a variety of dishes.
So back to the pizza, it was delicious fresh out of the oven- there was a sweetness from the ricotta and caramelized veggies and a little bite from the arugula and lemon juice. The wheat crust gave it a nice nutty flavor too. All in all a success and something different for us.
What else did I do with my 6 lbs of mushrooms? I made a chicken and mushroom dish over a wild-mushroom couscous, an asparagus and mushroom quiche and lots of sides of sauteed mushrooms with garlic and balsamic (excuse the not so great iphone pics). I still have a handful of mushrooms left which I plan on turing into a delicious vegetarian grilled sandwich.
If you want some of these fresh mushrooms delivered to your door, go check out Fresh Mushrooms!
Ingredients
Method
- Measure warm water in glass measuring cup and sprinkle in yeast. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes to give the yeast a chance to dissolve.
- Combine the flours, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse 2 to 3 times to combine. With the motor running pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil into the feed tube and process until the dough forms a smooth ball. To knead continue to process for 30 seconds.
- Turn dough into a floured surface and knead a few more time until the dough ball is smooth (may need to add a little more flour at this point if too sticky).
- Coat the inside of a large mixing bowl with cooking spray or a little oil. Place the dough ball into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough stand in a warm, draft-free spot until the dough has doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Punch down the dough and cut in half with a sharp knife. Place each half in a separate bowl or on a clean cutting board, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Use the dough as directed in any pizza recipe.
Notes
Ingredients
Method
- Measure warm water in glass measuring cup and sprinkle in yeast. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes to give the yeast a chance to dissolve.
- Combine the flours, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse 2 to 3 times to combine. With the motor running pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil into the feed tube and process until the dough forms a smooth ball. To knead continue to process for 30 seconds.
- Turn dough into a floured surface and knead a few more time until the dough ball is smooth (may need to add a little more flour at this point if too sticky).
- Coat the inside of a large mixing bowl with cooking spray or a little oil. Place the dough ball into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough stand in a warm, draft-free spot until the dough has doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Punch down the dough and cut in half with a sharp knife. Place each half in a separate bowl or on a clean cutting board, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Use the dough as directed in any pizza recipe.
Notes
Question: What’s your favorite way to enjoy mushrooms?
Disclaimer: I was sent 6 lbs of mushrooms to enjoy, I was not required to blog about it nor was I compensated.
Panko and Almond Crusted Chicken Sandwich with Sautéed Onions, Arugula and Goat Cheese
Parmesan and Pecan Crusted Oven Fried Chicken
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Smoked Salmon Salad {Gluten Free}
I absolutely adore mushrooms but no one else in my family does. This would be perfect for me to get my fill. Yum! Thanks again for another delicious recipe!
I’m with Angela. I like mushrooms, but I rarely cook with them since the hubby isn’t a fan. We both looooove pizza though!
I think that’s one of my favorite combinations – mushrooms, onions and arugula! This looks delicious.
So delish! I love mushrooms on my burgers 🙂
I am a huge mushroom lover. Mushrooms and onions were meant for each other, adding arugula is a great flavor booster. Such a great combination.
6 lbs of mushrooms?! That’s so many!!!! But you definitely came up with some creative ideas for them! Why did you decide to try the Fresh Mushroom program? Sounds really interesting? Was it worth it?
Hey Maria! Well they just offered to send me some to try. I can’t turn down fresh food delivered to my door! I had no idea it would be so many! It would be a great company to order from if you use mushrooms a lot or need them for an event- say your making stuffed mushrooms for a Xmas party….totally convenient.
Delicious pizzas! I might just need to use this with the Gluten free pizza dough I just received.
Whenever my mushroom-hating husband goes out of town, I buy a huge supply of mushrooms and cook with them at every meal. Heaven! These pizzas are going on my list for the next whirlwind cooking session.