Artichoke, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pizza

One of my favorite dishes to make is pizza that is loaded with toppings. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good margherita pizza but place a pizza pie in front of me bursting with toppings and flavors and I’ll be sure to devour it.

While my husband was out of town over the weekend, I decided to make my favorite pizza dough and, since it makes two crusts, I figured I would have pizza for dinner one night and maybe have the other pizza for lunch or dinner the following night. For the first pizza crust, I decided to pull out all the stops. I gathered items from my cupboard and refrigerator and threw everything but the kitchen sink on top of the dough. As soon as it came out of the oven my mouth began to water from the smell.

After devouring the entire pizza (don’t judge…mowing the lawn makes for one hungry gal), I immediately texted my husband and told him all about my little creation. His response? “That totally sounds like your type of pizza.” He couldn’t have been more correct. When it comes to my favorite types of pizza, the crazier the toppings, the better. I like my pizza to be a little bit on the eccentric side, combining various flavors and textures. If you’re the same way, then you are going to love this pizza.

Artichoke, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pizza

Ingredients (for one pizza — double for two pizzas):

• 1 fresh pizza dough (this recipe makes two pizza crusts)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• Baby Portobello mushrooms (approximately 7 slices)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained (only use 5-7 pieces on each pizza)
• 3 tablespoons chopped olives (pick your favorite type)
• 1/4 red onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded (or more, depending on the size of the crust)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Saute mushrooms in one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
• Roll/stretch out one pizza crust on a lightly floured surface and place on a greased baking sheet or greased pizza pan.
• Whisk together 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and brush over the dough. Sprinkle crust with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle the rest of the ingredients over the pizza in the following order: mushrooms, tomato, artichoke pieces, olives, red onion slices, goat cheese and Mozzarella cheese.
• Place the pizza in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.
• Repeat with second crust (if you decide to make two pizzas).

 What is your favorite pizza topping?