Greetings Fellow Pizza Connoisseurs,
Being that it's March and the month of St. Pattys Day and also when fresh, green watercress comes up in full bloom in a local stream. I went and picked a ton and decided to experiment with some deep dish. I blended the watercress with cilantro, extra virgin olive oil, garlic cloves, salt & pepper until it became a pesto. I prepared the quick rise dough for a 15" pan with:
1 packet of ADY
7 oz. warm water
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 cup Semolina Flour
1 TB olive oil
5 TB corn oil
1 TB melted butter
1/2 t seasoned salt
After mixing, I let it rise for a couple hours & punched it down and let it rise again for another couple hours before pressing into an oiled pan. I brushed more melted butter and layered 1.18 lbs (what the deli lady gave me!) of Stella mozzarella. At this point, a light bulb went off & I got to thinkin about Pequods and their burnt cheese crust. So as part of the experiment, I tucked cheese behind the back crust on half the pizza. Then I spooned on some pesto, layed down sliced tomatoes & green peppers and feta cheese and grated pecorino romano and tossed it into a preheated 450 degree oven for 15 minutes, gave it a 180 turn and finished it for another 15 minutes. I do enjoy experimenting with my pizzas and I really enjoyed the garlicy/peppery bite that the watercress pesto brought, but I did miss a full tomato sauce. The tomato slices helped, but not quite the same. Still, the feta was a tasty, different addition and I could see using it in a Greek style deep dish in the future. Oh, and the Pequods-style crust was a success--I'd do that again on a full one. Here are the pics:
