Recipe: Potato Pizza

A couple of Christmases ago, I received a copy of the book My Bread by Jim Lahey from my darling wife, who is a good sport about my growing cookbook collection.  Jim Lahey's the guy who is credited with the original New York Times No-Knead Bread recipe that started a near revolution for home cooks.  Anyway, when I first received the book, I read it cover-to-cover and I remember a recipe for potato pizza that piqued my interest.

Just the other day, I was prepping for our weekly "Pizza Night" and a) I didn't have any tomato sauce handy and; b) I was tired of the usual.  So, I thought it'd be a great time to play with the idea of a potato pizza.  Of course, I didn't pull out the recipe and follow it...I just decided to wing it and do my own version.  When it came out of the oven, I was a little skeptical but oh-my-goodness it was fantastic!

The only thing I'd recommend is to double or triple the potatoes.

Potato Pizza

Your favorite Homemade or Store-bought Pizza Dough
3-5 red potatoes, scrubbed
1 sweet onion, peeled
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
Parmesan cheese, finely grated
olive oil
salt & pepper

1) Heat your oven to 500 degrees (or the highest it'll go)

2) Finely slice the onions using a mandoline or knife.  Microwave on high 1-2 minutes until they are soft and have exuded some liquid.

3) Finely slice the potatoes with a mandoline or knife.  Toss with a little olive oil and microwave on high 2-3 minutes until softened but not mushy.

4) Stretch the dough onto a half-sheet pan

5) Place the dough into the oven and cook just until the dough sets.  It should not be brown.

6) Run an icing spatula under the dough to gently loosen it from the bottom of the pan.  Gently fold the par-cooked dough back and use a pastry brush to paint the bottom of the pan with olive oil.

7) Paint the top of the dough with olive oil and spread-on the garlic.  Top with cheese.  Continue topping with potatoes, onions, salt, pepper, and cheese.

8) Return the pan to the oven and continue cooking until everything starts to brown.  Serve warm.  Sour cream works great as a dipping sauce but it's purely optional.