This grilled zucchini blossom pistachio pesto pizza is absolutely delicious with fresh zucchini blossoms, milky mozzarella, creamy burrata, and bits of pancetta held together by a crispy, chewy crust.
For us summer means grilling season and time to dust off the grill. We grill everything--ribs, chicken, fish, shellfish, veggies, fruits, and even pizza. Our friend, LD, gave us the idea for grilling pizzas a few years ago and we’ve been hooked since. To celebrate summer, I’m excited to to share a recipe for grilled zucchini blossom pistachio pesto pizza.
This pizza is pesto based, topped with milky mozzarella, creamy burrata, bits of pancetta, and held together by a crispy, chewy crust. For the crust, I made a yeast based dough that took me months to perfect but it’s become my go to pizza dough. The basic pizza dough consists of only four ingredients--flour, water, salt, and yeast, but I added sugar to help with the fermentation process and a touch of olive oil to relax the dough. It takes minutes to put together and you can throw it in the Kitchenaid mixer using the dough hook attachment for a no knead dough.
Pistachio pesto is a staple in our home and it’s a great accompaniment to just about anything. I used Wonderful Pistachios roasted and salted pistachios because of their rich and fatty flavor. All the ingredients were tossed into the mortar and pounded until everything came together. The lemon zest and juice bring a freshness and beautiful balance to the pistachios. This recipe makes more pesto than you’ll need but don’t worry about your leftover going to waste. It lasts for a week in the fridge and goes well with bruschetta, roasted vegetables, chicken, fish, and pasta.
The toppings are simple but utilizes the best summer ingredients--zucchini blossoms accompanied by mozzarella, burrata, and pancetta. Splurge on the best-quality toppings for the best pizza. I used mozzarella and burrata but you can add ricotta or your favorite cheese. The saltiness of the pancetta lends a nice contrast to the creamy cheese and sweet zucchini. If you want more meat, paper thin slices of San Daniele prosciutto or Parma ham would be perfect with the zucchini blossoms. After seven minutes on the grill at 475 degrees F, you get a drool worthy pizza that tastes as good as it looks. I topped the pizza with chive blossoms from the garden and a few drops of truffle oil to bring everything together.
This recipe calls for a grilled pizza but not having a grill is not the end of the world. You can mimic the effect by setting your oven to the highest temperature and preheating a pizza stone. The only thing missing will be that smoky taste from the fire and slightly charred crust. Once you taste this grilled pizza, you’ll never want to go back to the oven.
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Grilled zucchini blossom pistachio pesto pizza
Ingredients
- 8 oz pizza dough
- ⅓ cup pistachio pesto
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 4 oz burrata, cut into small pieces
- 6-8 zucchini blossoms
- 2 oz pancetta, cut into small pieces
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Chive blossoms for serving
- Black truffle oil for drizzling
Pizza dough
- 1 cup “00” flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup water, lukewarm
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil and extra for greasing
- ½ teaspoon salt
Pistachio pesto
- 2 cups basil leaves
- ½ cup pistachios, Wonderful Pistachios roasted and salted
- 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- To make the pizza dough, in a small bowl, mix the lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar until well combined. Leave in a warm place for 5 minutes or until frothy. Stir in the olive oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours and salt.
- Pour the yeast mixture over the dry ingredients and use your hands to bring the mixture together to form a dough.
- In an electric mixture with the dough hook attachment, add the dough and mix for about five minutes on slow speed until everything is just incorporated.
- Lightly grease the inside of a clean dry bowl with olive oil and place the dough inside.
- Place a tea towel over the dough and leave in a warm place for 60 minutes until the dough double in size. This will give the gluten structure and strength and the dough will become elastic.
- When ready to make the pizza, set up the grill by placing coals on one side and lighting them. Rake the coals to create a flat even bed to create an even steady heat zone. Let the temperature reach to 475-500 degrees F. Place the pizza stone on the grill and let it heat up.
- While the grill is warming up, prepare the pizza. Dust a clean work surface lightly with semolina flour. Use your fist to knock the dough back with one good punch to let any air out.
- Divide the dough in half. Roll out the dough to a 12x8 inch oval with ⅛ inch thick. Save the extra dough for another pizza.
- Transfer the pizza base onto a piece of baking paper so transferring the assembled pizza to the heated stone will be easier.
- Prick the pizza base all over with a fork.
- Spread the pesto over the pizza base, leaving a ½ inch border. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the pesto.
- Add the zucchini blossoms, pancetta, and cut burrata pieces. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Transfer the pizza onto the heated pizza stone. Cook the pizza on the grill for 7-10 minutes or until golden and crisp.
- Use a pizza paddle, carefully transfer the pizza to a serving plate. Drizzle with a few drops of truffle oil and garnish with chive blossoms. Serve immediately.
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