This weeks kudos go to Judy for e-mailing me another awesome recipe. You may recall that a week or so ago I was excited to be e-mailed a couple of surprise recipes. Judy sent me this recipe to me as a thank you for my recommendation of Rick Bayless’s Tacos de Picadillo Oazaqueno– which her family thoroughly enjoyed. I finally made Judy’s recipe on Saturday, and it was really, really good. Did I mention really good? Rachael Ray’s Carbonara Pizza was inhaled by all- even the little girl with a sore mouth. A play on pasta carbonara, this pizza uses the same ingredients and puts it on pizza. Even thinking about it early in the morning makes me want to whip some up right now.
I started with pizza crust. I made my own, but you could use whatever your preference is. After stretching out the dough to fit a 16″ pizza pan, I drizzle it with olive oil, poked it with a fork, and popped it in the oven to pre-bake. While that was going, I beat two egg yolks and then added ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, black pepper, and 2 cloves of grated garlic. The recipe called for one clove, but Judy recommended two, and two was perfect. I also took a half pound of bacon, diced it, and fried it up. The recipe calls for pancetta, but seeing as how I’m a girl on a budget, I used our favorite hickory smoked bacon instead.
Next, I pulled the pizza crust out of the oven and brushed it with some of the bacon grease- hey I’m not one to argue with the tiny addition of pork fat. Then the ricotta mixture was spread evenly over the crust- the aroma right there was excruciating. Hot crust + bacon grease+ garlic=Mmmmm. Anyway, after the ricotta mixture, I sprinkled a mozarella/provolone cheese blend over the top and then topped that with the crumbled bacon. The whole thing went into the oven to bake for about 12 minutes- or until golden brown and bubbly. I left off the parsley since I didn’t have any, but we hardly missed it. This pizza was pure heaven. It was incredibly good and gives me a ton of ideas for variations. It was wonderful as is, but I can’t help but wonder how some additions would taste- like grilled portobella slices, roasted red pepper strips, or some caramelized leeks or onions.
Carbonara Pizza. It’s as delicious as it sounds. Make sure you pop back in tomorrow sometime as a down-home dessert from Paula Deen is making an appearance that will make you swoon.
I’m glad your family liked the pizza! For what it’s worth, I learned leftovers are excellent for breakfast.
–Judy
I am drooling just reading tha! Thanks for posting. I’ve never made pizza before — wondering if I need to get a pizza stone. Your pizza looks great — what do you use. I don’t know if those pizza pans with holes are good.
Thanks again.
Judy, my hubby enjoyed it thoroughly for brunch. 🙂
anonymous, really, all you need for pizza is a good sturdy baking sheet. This particular pizza I used one of those pizza pans with holes, but I have to cover with foil to use it for homemade pizza- otherwise the dough sinks into the holes and is a nightmare to get off the pan. I also have a stone, and use it on occassion, but honestly…there really isn’t that much of a difference. If you have a sturdy baking sheet- round or rectangular, that will work just fine. Click on my link for this pizza dough if you want homemade- this one is really easy, and you could knead the dough in a KA mixer or a bread machine if you wanted. Good luck! And if you need any homemade pizza tips, just holler. We make pizza a lot here.
Thanks Erika — I think I am going to make this pizza this weekend. I am going to start by picking up the dough at my local pizza place… I want to ease into this pizza thing. I am going to pick up a heavy non-stick cookie sheet (I am thinking nonstick is better since, pizza usually cooks in a real hot oven). I can always use another sheet. Just don’t have room for pizza stone. Can’t wait to try it — love pizza. Thanks for the info.