Olive Pesto Pizza with Fontina
Paired with our 2007 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir
Although this pizza is a bit rich, it is a great starter for a night out at the grill. If you have a pizza stone and enough room on your grill, place the stone directly on the grill and heat it until it is 450 degrees. Otherwise, proceed with the directions below.
Your favorite recipe for a 14” pizza dough or buy freshly prepared dough.
Olive Pesto:
2 cloves of garlic
2/3 c. kalamata olives, pitted
2 t. capers, drained
¼ c. walnuts, toasted
2 T. Italian parsley
1 T. tomato paste
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
½ lb. Italian Fontina cheese, sliced thinly. Ensure it is Italian Fontina; it will have a slightly pungent aroma.
1 tomato, sliced thinly
3 T. Italian parsley, de-stemmed but leaves left whole
salt and pepper
Place all of the ingredients for the olive pesto except the olive oil in a food processor and pulse until the olives are finely diced. Add the olive oil and season with salt & pepper, blending until combined. Set this aside.
Roll the pizza dough into a 14” circle on a floured surface. If you prefer a couple of smaller pizzas, simply divide the dough and roll it out into the preferred size. Roll the dough to ¼ inch height for a thin yet crisp crust.
Spoon enough pesto over the dough to cover it, leaving ¼ inch from the edge bare so that a crust can form cleanly. Lay the slices of tomato over the pesto and sprinkle the parsley leaves over the tomatoes. Lay the cheese on top to cover. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes on a pizza stone or a cookie sheet until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown on the bottom.
Pour a glass of our 2007 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir and enjoy!
Serves six (6) as a starter.
Recipe by Megan Thomas
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