Your guests will be ravenous before this pizza even hits the table
Garlic confit is one of those luxurious condiments that makes everything you cook with it taste amazing. In this recipe, I pair the aromatic confit with mushrooms to make a mouthwatering pizza!
The garlic confit is first made into a flavorful paste and lavishly spread over the dough, then the whole thing is topped with pan-roasted mushrooms (a trio of shiitake, oyster and brown beech) that deliver massive flavor. The pizza is finished with a sprinkle of homemade ricotta and fresh winter savory – both of which balance the earthy mushrooms marvelously.
Needless to say, the smells coming out of the kitchen when the pizza is baking drive you just about insane… biting into the first slice cannot come too soon!
Make, shape, top and bake a perfect gourmet pizza… brick-oven results from your home oven!
On a practical note, making pizza can be a bit intimidating, especially if you want to make the dough from scratch and shape it by hand… which I hope you do! But have no fear. I’ve produced a video for making and shaping the dough that will give you all the confidence you need to make this gourmet, artisan pie.
Here’s to garlic confit, mushrooms… and making pizza at home!
Food & wine pairing: Burgundy, Pinot Noir with mushroom and garlic confit pizza
It might be a cliché, but a Burgundy Pinot Noir is absolutely marvelous here – especially an older vintage, if you can get your hands on one!
Mushroom pizza with ricotta and garlic confit spread
makes 2 large pizzas
active time: 45 min
- 1 recipe pizza dough
For the mushrooms
- 1 lb (455 g) shiitake mushrooms
- 1 lb (455 g) oyster mushrooms
- 8 oz (225 g) brown beech mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the other toppings
- 1 cup garlic confit spread
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta (buffalo mozzarella is a good substitute)
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped winter savory (or rosemary)
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2/3 cup Reggiano Parmesan shavings as garnish (use a vegetable hand-peeler)
- garlic-infused oil (from the confit) for drizzling
- bread flour for shaping the dough
- fine cornmeal or bread flour to dust the pizza peel
- large pizza peel (16″ x 18″ paddle)
- large pizza stone
- Step 1: Prepare the dough (as per steps 1 and 2 of this pizza dough recipe) at least 4 1/2 hours (up to 36 hours) before baking the pizzas.
- Step 2:
Remove the stems of the shiitake mushrooms and cut the caps in quarters. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Trim the bottoms of the oyster mushrooms, tear the mushrooms in 1” pieces and place in a separate bowl. Trim the bottoms of the brown beech mushrooms and leave them whole. Add to the oyster mushrooms. Heat a large non-stick skillet over high heat and add the butter. As soon as the butter has melted, add the oil and the shiitake mushrooms, toss well and spread evenly over the whole surface of the pan. Sauté undisturbed for 2 minutes, until the mushrooms have wilted and begin to turn golden. Add the oyster and beech mushrooms to the pan and toss well. Continue to sauté at high heat until the mushrooms are golden-brown, about 6 to 7 minutes, tossing only from time to time. Add the salt and pepper, toss again and transfer to a bowl. - Cook’s note: The mushrooms can be prepared up to 1 hour ahead and kept at room temperature.
- Step 3: Place the pizza stone in the oven, on a rack located at the bottom third of the oven. (The stone should be about 9” from the roof of the oven.) Set the oven to 500°F (260°C) and preheat for 30 minutes. Then, without opening the oven, turn it off and turn on the broiler to high heat. Preheat broiler for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle a pizza peel with cornmeal or bread flour and shape the dough as per step 3 of this recipe. When the dough is stretched into a 16″ circle, place on the prepared pizza peel. Spread half the garlic confit spread over the whole surface of the dough, 1/2″ from the edges. Top with the mushrooms and sprinkle with the ricotta, winter savory or rosemary, salt and pepper. (Use only half the ingredients for the 1st pizza; save the other half to make the 2nd pizza.) Slide the pizza onto the hot stone by giving it a quick jerking movement and then gently shaking the peel to loosen the pizza. Bake for 3 to 4 minutes until the crust is browned on the edges. Slide the pizza back onto the peel and place on a cutting board. Garnish with half the Parmesan shavings, drizzle with garlic confit oil to taste and serve immediately. Keep the broiler on and make the 2nd pizza.
Viviane’s tip
- Shiitake, oyster and brown beech mushrooms are not only super-flavorful; they’re also available all year long and are pretty easy to find. (If your local grocery store doesn’t stock them, look for them in Asian markets. You’re sure to find them there.) But this pizza is also marvelous with seasonal wild mushrooms. Try using cèpes (also known as porcini), chanterelles, hen-of-the-woods, trumpet, hedgehog or even lobster mushrooms.
- In a pinch, you can use commercial mushrooms, of course, although the flavors won’t be as deep. I recommend crimini mushrooms over Portobellos, which are so robust that they’ll easily overwhelm the delicate flavors of the garlic confit.
I just made this and it is so easy and absolutely delicious! I confess I have never made garlic confit before….it will be a staple going forward. Thank you!
Thank you for your comment, Tiffany. I am delighted that garlic confit has found a place in your repertoire!
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Garlic confit? Wow, perfect pairing with the mixture of mushrooms. Definitely my kind of pizza.
Now that is one delicious pizza pie!!!!
Those mushrooms, and that thin crust and garlic confit….what an amazing combo!
So many amazing things going on here! The garlic confit is such a great idea for a pizza base and the ricotta a great cheese here to not overtake all the amazing mushrooms!
Thank you so much, Evelyne… I’m so glad you like these pizza toppings!
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