Potato pizza has a special place in my heart. This simple rustic pizza made with just a few basic ingredients (no tomato sauce) is pretty impossible to find in Swedish restaurants. So the only time we eat it is when we make it ourselves, and it always makes me think of Rome. There you can get it in almost every restaurant but they taste best bought from any of the many hole-in-the-wall ovens. They bake them incredibly looong and you buy a slice of it by showing with your hands how big piece you want. Normally they are baked with lots of olive oil, wheat flour and parmesan cheese, we have made a little healthier version of this recipe from the lovely blog The Italian Dish, by using less olive oil, rye flour and goat cheese. The rye flour makes it a little bit trickier to knead, but you end up with a very crunchy and tasty crust.
We have a special reason for posting this right now. By the end of next week we are going on a family vacation to Tuscany (I know, we are traveling a lot at the moment), and we have decided to bring camera and computer. So if we can just find an internet connection we will give you a couple more Italian favorites.
Potato Pizza with Goat Cheese
Makes 1 large pizza, 16 small slices
Dough:
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tsp instant dry yeast
2 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 cup rye flour (we used half light, half dark wholegrain)
2 tbsp olive oil
Filling:
3 medium size firm potatoes
2 tbsp salt
4 tbsp olive oil
2 small spring onions
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
100 g goat cheese
salt & black pepper
Pour warm water in a medium size bowl. Add salt and yeast and stir around. Mix in 2 cups of flour. Gradually add more flour until the dough comes together enough for you to start kneading it. Knead for a couple of minutes, add additional flour if it sticks to your hands. Put the dough back in the bowl and drizzle it with olive oil. Work the dough until it’s completely covered in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, you prepare the potatoes. Slice them thin with a mandoline or with a knife. Place the slices in a deep plate, drizzle them with salt and cover with cold water for about an hour. Drain the water, rinse the potatoes and pat them dry on a towel.
Preheat the oven to the highest possible temperature (450-500°F). Remove the plastic cover from the dough and start working it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface. Stretch and flatten the dough until you get the desired size and thickness that you prefer and move it to a baking pan covered with parchment paper. Rye flour doesn’t stretch as good as wheat flour but if you work carefully and flatten it with the palm of your hand you will get it right. Another trick is to roll it out directly on the parchment paper with a slightly floured rolling pin and then just move the parchment paper to the baking pan.
Brush the dough with a thin layer of olive oil. Cover it with potato slices, onion, rosemary, 3/4 of the goat cheese, salt and freshly grounded black pepper. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil over the pizza and bake for about 15-18 min until the potatoes are golden and the edges are slightly burnt. Sprinkle the rest of the goat cheese over it and serve immediately.
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