This lemon and pesto pizza is uncommonly delicious, made with a vibrant garlic scape and arugula pesto and balanced with thin slices of lemon that turn sweet and caramelized when baked.
If you’ve been a follower of my blog for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk many times about my dad’s wood fired pizza oven. I’ve posted tons of photos and recipes (like my favorite crispy potato pizza or zucchini pizza with toasted pine nuts just to name a few). While my dad now has a menu of around 10 pizzas that he makes consistently, he also tries something new pretty much every time he fires up the oven. At last weekend’s small pizza party, that new recipe came courtesy of our friend Mary, who brought with her a really tasty garlic scape and arugula pesto. It was screaming for us to use it on a pizza, so when it came time to make said pizza, we basically came up with a recipe on the fly. And that recipe turned out to be an absolute masterpiece: lemon and pesto pizza.
The way this magical lemon and pesto pizza came to be was an absolute twist of fate. My dad has a lemon pizza – the honey, lemon and ricotta pizza – that has become a staple at pretty much every pizza party. It’s my sister-in-law Julie’s all-time favorite of his pizzas, meaning we always have lemons at the ready for making pizza. When it came time to make Mary’s pesto pizza, she saw my step mom slicing up lemons and said to my dad, “Why don’t we throw some lemon slices on it too?” The result is a truly magical; garlicky and herbaceous from the pesto, creamy from both mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, with a burst of fresh lemon that caramelizes and sweetens in the oven, rounding out all the flavors.
PESTO FOR PIZZA
A lot of the credit for the deliciousness of this lemon pesto pizza is owed to Mary’s pesto, which is no traditional pesto. Instead of basil, Mary made this pesto with garlic scapes (the green stalks from the garlic plant) and arugula, along with the traditional pesto ingredients of walnuts, olive oil and parmesan. The result is a pesto that’s slightly spicy from the arugula, of course garlicky from the garlic scapes, and undeniably delicious. I asked her for the recipe, but like most of the cooking we do around my house, she gave me a general approximation of how she made it: “One bunch of garlic scapes from my CSA haul, a handful or two of arugula, some nuts and parmesan, and a stream of olive oil until it’s smooth.”
Of course you could use any type of pesto you want for this recipe (like my leek and stinging nettle pesto or my spinach pesto), but Mary’s garlic scape pesto is super easy to make and so good. As far as the pizza dough goes, feel free to try making your own (you can follow my family secret pizza dough recipe), or use a store bought pizza dough (I’m partial to Trader Joe’s pizza dough). The specialness of this pizza really comes in the form of the thinly sliced lemon – thin enough that it cooks in the oven and loses some of its bitterness, becoming slightly sweet, tangy, and so citrusy. It’s the perfect balance for pesto, brightening the herbaceous notes of the pesto and rounding it out with some sweetness, making for a pizza that truly is special.
Lemon and Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
For the pizza
- 1/2 lb pizza dough
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup pesto, plus more for topping (see recipe for garlic scape and arugula pesto, or use pesto of your choice)
- olive oil for drizzling
For the garlic scape and arugula pesto
- 1 large bunch fresh garlic scapes
- 2 handfuls fresh arugula
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- salt
- olive oil
Instructions
For the garlic scape and arugula pesto
- Combine garlic scapes, arugula, parmesan, walnuts, and garlic in the bowl of the food processor or blender. Blend, streaming in olive oil as it blends, until pesto is smooth and creamy. Season with salt as needed.
For the pizza
- If you're using a pizza oven, fire it up! Of course if you're not, preheat the oven to as hot as it will go – usually around 550. If you are using a pizza stone, which is preferable, preheat this as well. If you don't have a pizza stone you can use a baking sheet, also preheated.
- On a well floured surface, stretch and roll your your pizza dough to ¼ inch thick disc around 12 inches in diameter.
- Thinly slice your lemon to about ⅛ of an inch thick, using either a mandolin or very carefully with a knife.
- Assemble your pizza: Start with a drizzle of olive oil over the dough. Spread ricotta cheese, followed by pesto, blending the two with the spoon as you go. Sprinkle with mozzarella and season with salt. Layer thin slices of lemon over the top.
- Using a pizza peel or the back of a cookie sheet, transfer your assembled pizza to the preheated baking surface. If cooking in a pizza oven, the pizza will only take about 90 seconds to 2 minutes to bake. If baking in the regular oven, bake for about 10 minutes, rotating once while baking, until browned and cheese is bubbly.
- Top pizza with dollops of fresh pesto and serve.
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