I love playing with different flavor combinations and textures. I want to surprise you and get you to open up and try new things. This month’s pizza will do just that. It’s sweet, bitter, salty, savory, tangy, creamy, crunchy and delicious. There are a few extra steps in this recipe, but they really help elevate the flavors of this pizza and are worth the extra work. First is grilling the radicchio. The resulting bits of char you get are so delicious. Secondly, rehydrating the dried cherries in some champagne vinegar and water plumps those cherries back up and gives them a real heightened flavor. Both steps are very easy and add so much. Here’s what you will need:
Bittersweet Pizza
Author: Pizza Today
Recipe type: pizzas
Ingredients
- 10-ounce dough ball
- 6 ounces shredded mozzarella
- 6 ounces Fontina
- 6 ounces dried cherry
- 4 ounces champagne vinegar
- 3 ounces water
- 2 ounces white sugar
- high quality Balsamic or Saba
- 6 ounces cooked/crumbled sausage
- 3 sprigs of rosemary
- Stracciatella
- Head of radicchio
- micro arugula
Instructions
- For the rehydrated cherries: In a saucepan on medium heat, add the water, vinegar, sugar and cherries and cook until tender and vinegar/water solution has reduced by half.
- Remove from the pan and set aside to cool. After they are cooled down, remove cherries from the water solution.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of a high quality balsamic or Saba to the water mixture.
- For the grilled radicchio:  Set grill to med/high heat and let it get hot.
- Quarter a head of radicchio and season with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Let the oil and seasoning set in for 5 or so minutes before adding to the grill.
- Place pieces of radicchio on grill and let cook on all sides until it begins to char. The heads will split open and that is ok — just don’t let the leaves burn. Should take 3-4 minutes at most.
- When finished grilling, let cool and cut into strips.
- For the pizza: Stretch pizza to desired size.
- Top with 2 ounces of mozzarella, 2 ounces fontina, sprinkle some rosemary over the cheese and spread sausage over pizza.
- Bake at 550 F for 8-10 minutes.
- Set pizza on cooling rack and top with the grilled radicchio, cherries and small dots of Stracciatella.
- Finish with the micro arugula.
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