Pesto & Zucchini Blossom Pizza

I have been wanting to make this pizza for a very longtime, cooking with squash blossoms is not new to me, my mom used to make these when I was little, but I never learnt to make squash blossom the Indian way ( note to self I should ask her next time when I call). 

Squash blossom is hugely popular in Italy, from pizza toppings to fried blossom. I made the latter a while back, but most exploded so that I idea was scrapped, it was too messy to try again. Pizza was on my mind and I waited till they started to show up at my farmers market. Last week I saw these beauties and grabbed a bunch and made pizza the very next day, trust me they have an even shorter fridge life no more than 2 days.

Squash blossom are available in farmers market early-mid summer all over California, I even got my hands dirty growing them in my garden, hard work, but had to try them. If you see them at the market grab a bunch and make this pizza, I promise you’ll love it.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 2 Pizzas

• 2 Balls Pizza Dough (8 Ounces Each) homemade or store bought (I have a fabulous homemade recipe for another time)
• 4 Small Zucchini or 8-10 baby zucchinis cleaned & Thinly Sliced
• 10-15 Squash blossoms
• 1 large ball burrata or 1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese or vegan melty cheese
• Extra black pepper and red chili flakes

For the Pesto

• 4 cups organic basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ cup walnuts
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste 

For the pesto blend all the ingredients except the oil into a smooth consistency. Add the olive oil and transfer to a glass jar. Use within 3-4 days. 

For the pizza

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to highest temperature with the baking pan in the oven.. Mine goes upto 600F.
2. Roll out one ball of dough to about 12 to 14 inch diameter circle with your hands preferably and place it on a pizza pell or baking sheet already sprinkled with cornmeal. You can pull and stretch to make it even and thin.
3. Brush or smear the top of the rolled out dough with pesto, and scatter 1/4 of the torn burrata or mozzarella. Don’t over do the pesto.
4. Evenly place the sliced zucchini, and zucchini flowers on top of the cheese.
5. Sprinkle the top with black pepper and red pepper flakes if using.
6. Transfer on to the hot baking sheet. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and the crust lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Depending on how golden you like the edges and how hot your oven gets.
7. Remove from the oven and slice. Serve right away.
8. Makes 2 pizzas serving 3-4