Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza

Fruit and cheese go so well together. Apple and cheddar. Grape and taleggio. Quince and manchego. But none of these combinations top a pizza the way pear and gorgonzola do. Ever since I discovered such a thing at a California Pizza Kitchen (back when I lived near several CPKs and a meal there usually marked a special occasion and a blow to my humble student budget), I have been hooked. I've included a recipe for pizza crust that I memorized in college, which has since been forgotten due to lack of use. Store bought dough is harder to be proud of, but sure saves a lot of time.


1/2 recipe pizza dough (see below)
6 oz fontina cheese, shredded
4 oz gorgonzola dolce
1 firm but ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced (about 1/4-inch thick)
a handful of walnuts, chopped
extra-virgin olive oil
black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle a little bit of cornmeal on a baking sheet. Shape pizza dough on baking sheet, and let it rest for 15 minutes. Brush lightly with olive oil.

Top dough with fontina cheese. Arrange pear slices on top of cheese, then top with pieces of gorgonzola cheese. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven, then 8 to 10 on the top rack. Sprinkle walnuts and black pepper on pizza while it is still hot.


Basic Pizza Dough
(adapted from The Cheese Board Collective Works)

(makes two 12-inch, thin pizzas)

1 packet (2 1/4 tsp or 1/4 oz) yeast
1 1/8 cup warm water
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/8 tsp salt
2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl. Whisk with a fork, let stand 5 minutes.

Add oil, salt, and 2 1/2 cups of flour. Mix with a wooden spoon for at least 5 minutes. The dough should be a little sticky, but not so much that you can't pick it up with your hands. It should form a ball.

Add 1/4 cup of flour to a large cutting board (or any clean, flat surface such as a large baking sheet). Dust your hands with some flour. Knead dough for at least 8 minutes, incorporating flour. If the dough is still way too sticky, add flour 1/4 cup at a time. The end result should be a smooth ball of dough that isn't too dry. For those of you who don't know how to knead, all you do is fold the dough towards you, then push forward with the heel of your hand, then rotate a quarter turn and repeat. It can be therapeutic, like those stress-relief balls that you squeeze. Tip: to prevent your kneading surface from slipping, place a damp towel under it.

Place dough in a well-oiled, large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (such as your kitchen stove) for 1 hour (or whatever the yeast packet instructions say).

After the dough has doubled in size, divide it into two portions, and use one per pizza.