Recipe Swap: Fontina Mushroom Pizza

A mushroom walks into a bar looking dejected. The bartender asks what's wrong and the mushroom says "I don't know why but I just can't get a date." The bartender looks at him and says "I don't know why, you look like a fun guy."

Fun guy. Fungi. Get it?

I'll be here all week.

The recipe swap ladies from my cooking board recently suggested changing the way we do the swaps. Rather than assigning them a recipe to make, they pick a recipe that fits the theme from an assigned blog. This month's theme was vegetarian and I was given Dawn's blog, Simple Gourmet Cook. As soon as I saw this recipe for Fontina Mushroom Pizza I knew I had to make it. SP is a huge mushroom fan and this finally gave me the push I needed to get some more pizza dough in the freezer.

This was a very labor-intensive pizza to make since I had to roast some of the mushrooms, saute the rest, make the pesto, etc. But it was worth it. Baby Girl helped, which usually involves her batting her eyelashes and making innocent faces at me as she steals pieces of whatever ingredient I'm prepping.

I think next time I'd do half fontina and half mozzarella - I found the fontina to be a bit overwhelming - but otherwise this was a great pizza.

Fontina Mushroom Pizza
Simple Gourmet Cooking, adapted from Annie's Eats, as seen on Pink Parsley

For the mushroom pesto:
6 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

For the pizza:
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
1 ball pizza dough
Olive oil
1 1/2 cups shredded Fontina cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 450˚. Spread the mushrooms in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with foil. Toss the mushrooms with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 20-25 minutes. After 15 minutes of baking, add the garlic cloves to the pan.

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine the roasted mushrooms, peeled garlic cloves, shallot, thyme, parsley, and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Process until smooth, scraping down the bowl and adding small amounts of water (1 tablespoon at a time) as needed. Transfer pesto to a small bowl, stir in the Parmesan, and set aside.

Turn the oven up to 550˚ and preheat a pizza stone.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the mushrooms until browned and soft, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

Roll out the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round. Lightly brush the outer edges of the dough with olive oil. Spread the mushroom pesto over the crust in an even layer, leaving about 1/2 inch around the sides for a crust. Add the sauteed mushrooms on top. Top with the fontina and Parmesan.

Carefully transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes.

To see what other vegetarian recipes were made in the swap click the links below.