Potato, Fennel and Shallot Pizza (plus recipe!)

A couple weeks ago I saw a special about pizza on the travel channel. For the life of me I can't find a link or I'd send you there. At any rate one of the featured pies was potato and cheese. It sounded heavenly and I wanted to give it a go. Not only could I not find a link but I also couldn't find a suitable recipe.

If you google potato pizza you'll find several recipes but none quite what I was looking for. So I made up my own: Potato, Fennel and Shallot Pizza. It turned out pretty good so I'm sharing the recipe with all of you.

First you should know a few things about me. I am a thin crust girl. The thinner the better. Here is my favorite dough recipe. Now don't get me wrong. I've had deep dish pizza - from the master. It was completely and absolutely delectable. But at home it's thin crust all the way.

Given that the crust is thin I prefer my pizza without much sauce (though I made this topping the other week -- very very good!)

You'll need a pizza stone and a peel. A mandoline is also very helpful to get thin slices of potato and fennel. Plan to eat this as soon as it arrives out of the oven otherwise the crust will get soggy.

Now, without further adieu, the recipe:

Ingredients:

Pizza dough

Fennel bulb

2 to 3 yellow potatoes

2 to 3 shallots

Sharp white cheddar cheese

Fresh grated Parmesean Cheese

Kosher Salt

Freshly ground Pepper

Olive oil

Corn meal

Directions:

1) Place pizza stone in oven. Preheat to 450 degrees (this works best if permitted to heat for 45 minutes).

2) Cut shallots into thin slices. Place ~ three tablespoons olive oil in a skillet (I just add a splash to cover the bottom of the skillet). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill onions until lightly browned.

3) Take a fennel bulb and cut in half. Cut out the triangular core. Using a mandoline to thinly slice.

4) Wash potatoes. Thinly slice wilth mandoline. (I left the skin on).

5) Roll dough thin (~1/8th of an inch).

6) Sprinkle small amount of corn meal on pizza peel.

7) Place dough on pizza peel.

8) Place thin layer of shallots on dough.

9) Place layer of fennel.

10) Add layer of potatoes.

11) Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

12) Drizzle with olive oil.

13) Sprinkle with both cheeses.

14) Slide onto pizza stone and bake until lightly browned and crust crispy.

15) Remove from oven, slice and eat immediately!

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Note our fancy dining table (a child's chair). We were recently gifted a television (thank you Mom and Dad!). This contraption now sits on what was our coffee table. The dining room table is covered with a sewing machine, knitting implements, valentines and other assorted junk. As such we are stuck with the ever so fancy chair - an antique from the LA School district. That's how we roll, folks, nothing if not fancy. And no, there isn't a bite taken out of that photo. The beauty of hand rolled crust lies within the imperfections. At least that's what I'm telling myself. Happy Monday!