White Pizza with Arugula Salad

I first tried a version of this recipe last summer from Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa Back To Basics." I immediately fell in love. It is a perfect summer dinner. Hot crispy crust, luxurious gooey cheese with the added snap of goat cheese topped with cool, lemony arugula salad. As the summer wore on, I experimented with the recipe. I have changed the crust to 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white flour and reduced the salt content. I changed up the cheeses and added truffle salt and truffle oil to the vinaigrette for a nice hint of earthiness. Arugula is in season during the spring and summer months and reappears in the fall. Be sure to buy it locally while it is in season.

Recipe

For The Dough

1 1/4 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees)

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups white flour, preferably unbleached

2 packages dry yeast

3 tablespoons olive oil


1 tablespoon honey

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

Pizza Topping

1/2 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves sliced

6 sprigs fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

12 ounces grated mozzarella

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

6 ounces crumbled goat cheese

Vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon truffle salt

1/4 teaspoon truffle oil

pinch freshly ground black pepper

Salad

8 ounces fresh, baby arugula

Rinse your bowl with warm water and place it on your mixer. Warming the bowl will help develop the yeast during the proofing process. Combine the water, yeast, honey and olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. While the yeast is dissolving, combine the white and whole wheat flour in a bowl. Add 3 cups of the flour to the bowl and the 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. Mix on medium-low speed. Add more flour from the bowl, a little bit at a time, until you have a soft dough. Knead the dough with the dough hook until it is smooth and has formed a ball. This should take between 8-10 minutes. Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead it by hand a dozen times. It will be smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl coated with a small amount of olive oil. Turn the dough over to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.


While the dough is rising, mix the vinaigrette. Whisk together the 1/3 cup olive oil, the lemon juice, truffle salt, truffle oil and pepper. Set aside.

Next, make the garlic oil. Place 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, thyme sprigs, and red pepper flakes in a small sauce pan. Place the pan over low heat and bring it to a gentle simmer. Cook gently for 10 minutes to toast the garlic to a golden brown. Be careful not to scorch the garlic. Garlic can scorch very quickly, so be attentive.

Place the dough on a lightly floured board and cut it into 6 equal pieces. Place 2 dough pieces on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. In total, you will need three sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Cover the dough with a damp dish towel and let it rest for 10 minutes. If you want to cook the pizzas later, the dough will keep wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for several hours. If you refrigerate the dough for later use, be sure to remove from the fridge 30 minutes before using. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.

Form each dough piece into a ball. Press and stretch into an 8 inch circle and place two circles onto each parchment paper lined sheet pan. Brush the pizzas with the garlic oil and sprinkle with some kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with the cheese. Drizzle each pizza with more garlic oil. Bake the pizzas in a 500 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the crust is crisp and golden.

When the pizza is done, toss the arugula in a large bowl with the vinaigrette. Place a large mound of arugula salad on each pizza and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Tips

Truffle salt and truffle oil can be purchased in the gourmet section of many grocery stores. You can leave them out of the recipe, but they are well worth seeking out.