Pizza with Chimichurri, Chorizo, and Squash Blossoms

August 8, 2014

Hello from Traverse City, Michigan! We are currently very busy spending long luxurious days at the beach, eating our weight in gelato (more on that later) and stopping at every farm stand filling our car with cherries and sweet corn. So please excuse me for the short post.

I did however want to leave you with an incredible pizza you may want to tackle this weekend. It is made on a whole wheat crust that I feel I’ve spent a lifetime perfecting. I’ve discovered the secret is leaving the dough a little wetter than you would imagine which makes for a chewy flavorful crust that is never tough or dry. When you are mixing the dough it should stick to the bottom of the bowl and be sticky to the touch. You can always add flour to the counter when you are stretching out the dough to keep your hands dry.

I’ve grown squash, summer and winter varieties, for a few years now but have always been too scared to use the blossoms. I didn’t trust myself to pick the right ones and feared I might kill off my crop. But this year I decided to go for it and do what anyone does when they have no idea what they’re doing—watch a video on youtube. I never realized it is so easy to tell the difference! The mama blossoms are the ones with the baby squash attached (don’t touch those) and the papa blossoms have a long thin stem attached (those are the ones you want).

The chimichurri is a snap and comes together in seconds in the food processor. This recipe makes a lot more that you will use for the pizza, but there’s nothing wrong with having a little extra in the fridge to spread on sandwiches, fold into mayo and hard-boiled yolks for spectacular deviled eggs, or dollop onto gazpacho.

This pizza is extra fancy, impressive even, the way pizza should be.

Pizza with Chimichurri, Chorizo, and Squash Blossoms

This Pizza with Chimichurri sauce, Spanish chorizo, and delicate squash blossoms is extra fancy, impressive even, the way pizza should be.

The dough needs about 3 hours to rise. If you want to make the dough ahead of time, you can make it up to a day in advance and let rise, covered in the refrigerator. Make sure you take it out of the refrigerator, place on a clean, lightly-floured surface, and cover with a clean kitchen towel at least 30 minutes before baking.

Author: Kate Ramos
Yield: Two 12-inch Pizzas 1x

Scale

Ingredients

For the Dough:

1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-110°F)
1 1/4 teaspoons dried yeast
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing

For the Chimichurri:

3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups packed cilantro leaves
1 cup chopped chives
1/2 cup loosely packed mint leaves
1 shallot, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

For the Pizza:

12–24 squash blossoms
4–8 ounces thinly sliced dry Spanish chorizo
3 cups shredded chiuahua or mozzarella cheese

Instructions

To make the dough, combine water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Let sit for 10 minutes to rehydrate the yeast.
Add both flours and the salt and mix on low speed just until combined. Increase heat to medium and slowly drizzle in the olive oil and continue mixing until it is fully incorporated. The dough should be dry enough that the sides of the bowl are clean but wet enough that it is sticking to the bottom of the bowl. Add more flour or water a tablespoon at a time to get it to the right consistency, if necessary.
Once it reaches the right consistency, increase the speed to medium-high and knead for 8 minutes. Lightly grease a large bowl with oil, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about 3 hours.
Meanwhile, make the chimichurri. Combine garlic, cilantro, chives, mint, shallots, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until coarsely chopped. With the machine running, slowly add the vinegar and olive oil and continue processing until smooth. Taste and add more salt or vinegar as needed. Chimichurri can be made up to 3 days in advance.
When the dough is ready, heat oven to its highest setting or at least 450°F. If you have a pizza stone place it on the bottom rack of the oven and let it heat up with the oven.
Once the oven is hot, stretch the dough into a 12-inch circle (if you are using a pizza stone) or stretch over a baking sheet (if you don’t). Evenly spread about 3 tablespoons of chimichurri over the dough. Top with half the squash blossoms, chorizo, and cheese and transfer to the oven. Bake until crust is golden and cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10-15 minutes depending on your oven.
Remove from oven, slice and serve.