Fennel and Leek Pizza

Note: If you have them, you’ll want to use your pizza peel and pizza stone for this recipe. Otherwise, just use a standard pizza pan.

Preheat your oven and pizza stone to 500 F.

I used a mandoline to break down the leeks and fennel bulb. If you do not have a mandoline, use a sharp knife and make sure you thinly slice both the fennel bulb and the leeks. You will also need to clean the leeks after slicing them because you will notice there is plenty of dirt inside the rings. Put them in a bowl of water and stir around so that the dirt sinks to the bottom. Then use a slotted spoon to remove the leeks from the water into a colander. Rinse. Once rinsed and the dirt removed, pat them dry.

Add the leeks and fennel slices into a mixing bowl. Toss in the Parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper, and oil. Give that a good mix, and set aside.

If you have a pizza peel, get it out and lightly dust it with the cornmeal. I always find that it is really easy to slide the prepared pizza onto the heated pizza stone if you use cornmeal on the pizza peel.

Stretch out your down to about a 14 inch diameter. Place that onto your pizza peel or use a pizza pan if you don’t have a pizza peel.

Lay all of the fennel and leek mixture over the top of the dough, covering it all the way to the edge.

Open the oven and slide the pizza off of the peel onto the stone (or put the pizza pan in the oven) and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the leaks and fennel begin to caramelize and the dough is nice and golden.

Remove from the oven, and set the pizza onto a rack so air can move underneath. I like this approach when making pizza so that the crust does not steam up from underneath.

Slice, and serve. Everything about this pizza was good. First, it was meatless, which I enjoyed as a lighter alternative to snack on in the late afternoon. And more importantly, I was able to use fennel in a pretty clever way. The leeks had a very mild onion flavor, and when paired with the fennel, well, let’s just say it was extremely delicious. This pizza was unlike most pizzas. It had Parmesan cheese mixed inside with the toppings so you could hardly tell there was any cheese. But the addition of Parmesan added that saltiness that was needed to balance out the leeks and fennel. If you are looking for something new to make, that is light, fresh, and delicious, give this one a shot. I hope you enjoy it!