Deep Dish Smoked Salmon pizza?

[DeepDish 622]

I'm interested in making a deep dish pizza with smoked salmon, capers, onions, fresh dill, and either cream cheese or neufchatel cheese.  I've never used these ingredients before, but like to try new things at least once.  Is it feasible to use these indegredients, or would the cheese melt too easily?

Assuming the cheese doesn't melt too much, what temperature should I set the oven, and how long should it be baked?  If neither of these cheeses is suitable for baking in a pizza, is there another cheese that would be suitable for these ingredients?

 

[November]

Not only would it be feasible, that grouping of ingredients is a good one.  What you have chosen sounds like a take on breakfast pizza, as lox (smoked salmon), capers, bagels, and cream cheese is a common breakfast combination.  I have found that cream cheese makes an excellent pizza sauce when "smoked" or combined with a smoked meat.  One idea out of many can be seen bellow.  Use salmon and capers instead of scrambled egg and bacon; add dill and minced onion to the sauce; use just mozzarella instead of cheddar (or skip this kind of cheese entirely); and perhaps skip the butter while using milk to thin it out instead of water.  Of course try whatever you want.  I think you have hit upon a good idea for a pizza.

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,637.msg58255.html#msg58255

- red.november

[sourdough girl]

Not only would it be feasible, that grouping of ingredients is a good one.  I think you have hit upon a good idea for a pizza.

- red.november

I'd stand in line for that pizza!   

~sd

[DeepDish 622]

I will likely try it sometime in the next couple of weeks.  My main concern was the cream cheese melting too much.  What temperature should I set the oven for, and how long should I bake it?

[November]

My main concern was the cream cheese melting too much.  What temperature should I set the oven for, and how long should I bake it?

Used as a sauce, melting isn't in the equation.  It's already a liquid.  As a straight topping, cream cheese isn't going to melt like the cheeses you typically find on pizza.  It will just become soft and then burn depending on the temperature.

I would not recommend a true deep dish pizza as identified by thick or multiple layers of meat and cheese.  Fish meat is too delicate to be put through that.  Assuming you make a pan pizza, 500°F for about 7-8 minutes.  If you attempt a thinner, New York style crust, try 525°F for about 6-7 minutes.

[DeepDish 622]

What other type of cheese would likely go compliment it, if I use the cream cheese as a sauce rather than a topping?   

[November]

What other type of cheese would likely go compliment it, if I use the cream cheese as a sauce rather than a topping?   

I think maybe you're thinking too much in terms of a traditional pizza.  You should consider the possibility that cheese as you know it for a pizza does not necessarily apply here.  The litmus test in this case is what cheeses do you usually serve with fish?  As far as I know, not many.  With salmon, very soft cheeses like cream cheese and young Fontina seem appropriate, and there's an outside possibility you would enjoy it with fresh mozzarella.  I wouldn't want to overpower the smoked salmon flavor, so that eliminates working with aged cheeses.  My suggestion is to try it without another cheese, or with a very light application of a fresh, semi-soft cheese.

- red.november

[November]

In the previous post I almost mentioned sheep cheese, but then I thought that could be overpowering as well.  Apparently some enjoy goat cheese with salmon, so that's a possibility.  However, that definitely takes it in a different direction as the smokiness might get lost.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Goat-Cheese-Salmon/Detail.aspx

There's always mozzarella di bufala too.

[DeepDish 622]

Adding Fontina sounds interesting.

[November]

Adding Fontina sounds interesting.

Another semi-soft cheese I've mentioned before that I really like, but as I said then is difficult to find the young "baby" or "cream" version of it, is Havarti.

The Danish really know their dairy products.  Cream Havarti is one of my favorite cheeses, possibly even my all-time favorite under the right conditions, but it is difficult to find a fresh quality source for it.  The Havarti cheesees usually sold in supermarkets are too sharp.  That's why some of them are simply labeled Havarti, and not Cream Havarti or Baby Havarti.  [...]  Havarti cheese is also available smoked.

[Pete-zza]

Several years ago, Wolfgang Puck popularized a smoked salmon pizza with onions, dill, crème fraîche and caviar. The individual crusts were pre-baked and then finished on the plate. How this is done is described at many places on the internet, including this one: http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity-lifestyle/how-to/life-advice/wolfgang-puck-pizza-recipe. If one does not insist on baking the entire pizza, whether a flat pizza or a deep-dish pizza, with everything on the pizza, it may be possible to come up with a deep-dish version of a salmon based pizza as contemplated by DeepDish 622.

In lieu of crème fraîche, it also occurs to me that a Greek tzatziki sauce, but based on sour cream rather than yogurt (but also including fresh dill and cucumber in some form), might make a good base for the pizza. But I suspect it would have to be used on a pre-baked crust. I think the coolness of the creme base and the warmth of the crust would make a nice combination.

Peter

[DeepDish 622]

I'm gathering that it might be best to add the smoked salmon to the top of the pizza after baking the rest of the pizza.

[DeepDish 622]

Today's the day!  I plan to try using Alaska king smoked salmon, Neufchâtel cheese, capers, fresh dill, fresh chives, and some Fontina and Jarlsberg cheese to top it off.