Dandelion Pesto-Dianthus Pizza

When I saw the bunch of dandelions in my WE Cooperative CSA box from Fogline Farm, I decided to make dandelion pesto and smear it on a pizza crust. Dinner!

When I plan ahead - way ahead - my favorite pizza crust is Mark Bittman's "No Work Mostly Whole Wheat Pizza Dough." This is the easiest pizza dough I have ever made! But it does require lots of lead time. The recipe suggests letting the dough ferment for six to twelve hours and that the longer you let it ferment, the more complex the flavor.

2 C whole wheat flour
1 C white flour
1/2 t active dry yeast
1 t fennel pollen
1 t pink Himalaya salt
freshly ground pepper
2 T olive oil
1-1/2 C warm water

Mix everything together in a large bowl. The texture will be a wet, sticky dough. Cover and let ferment for as long as you can - between six and twelve hours. At the end of that, use the dough as you would use any pizza dough.

When I'm pressed for time, as I was tonight, this dough works fine.

1 T active dry yeast
1 T organic granulated sugar
1 C warm water
1-1/2 C white whole wheat flour
1 C chestnut flour
2 T olive oil
1 t pink Himalaya salt

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.

I was inspired by a nasturtium pizza recipe in Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers by Miche Bacher of Mali B Sweets. I smeared my crust with dandelion pesto, baked it, then topped it with a sheep's milk fromage blanc from Garden Variety Cheese at the Monkeyflower Ranch in Royal Oaks.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Turn whichever dough you make onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round that fits your baking stone.

Smear with dandelion pesto and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crust is lightly golden.

Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before topping with small dollops of fromage blanc and more pesto. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and dianthus petals . Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

*Update 6/7/2013: Linked this post to Katherine Martinelli's Pizza Linky Party*

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