Pizza Today - March 2016 - 44

P

erhaps the greatest benefit to
owning a pizzeria is the ability
to create specialty pizzas that
offer your diners something beyond red
sauce and pepperoni or sausage. There
are a certain number of folks who won't
stray beyond the tried and true, but
offering daily or weekly specials with
non-traditional sauces is a great way to
get them to break out of their comfort
zone.

Spinach Artichoke Sauce
This recipe starts with a classic spinach and
artichoke dip that makes a great appetizer
offering. Thin it down with a little half and half
or milk, and you've got an awesome base for
a pizza.
1½ pounds of cream cheese (softened)
15 ounces of artichoke hearts, roughly
chopped
5 ounces of fresh spinach (sauté with
salt), chopped
1 tablesoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup whole milk or half and half
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Sauté the fresh spinach in the olive oil
until softened. Add in the cream cheese
and artichoke hearts and stir in the garlic,
crushed red pepper, salt and Parmesan
cheese. Stir until cream cheese has melted.
Add milk or half and half to thin the dip out
to sauce consistency.
To build the pizza in our photo, I paired
this sauce with chopped thick-cut bacon,
cubed chicken seasoned with olive oil, rosemary, garlic and roasted cherry tomatoes.
Use a mild cheese like traditional shredded
mozzarella since the sauce already has
grated Parmesan and cream cheese, and
you don't want to overpower it.

Sundried Tomato Pesto
Remember that pesto goes a long way - if
you want to thin it out, add a bit of water or
olive oil for a wetter sauce.
2 garlic cloves
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 4 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / M A R C H 2 0 1 6

½ cup pine nuts
½ cup olive oil
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil,
or rehydrated with hot water
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
This recipe can be altered to create a
green olive pesto by replacing the sun-dried
tomatoes with 1 cup of sliced green olives
that have been rinsed.
In a food processor, add all ingredients
and mix until blended.
We paired this easy sauce with sliced
Italian sausage, fresh baby bella mushrooms
and chopped green peppers. Use a mozzarella with this one, but a liberal dose of
Pecorino-Romano after baking will add a
rich flavor that pairs well with the pesto.

Mango Chutney Sauce
This one is a little time consuming, and you
may find it faster and easier to buy pre-made,
especially if you're not using it across multiple
applications on your menu. Still, give this recipe
a go. It makes about three 8-ounce jars.
3 mangos, slightly under-ripe
1½ cups brown sugar
½ teaspooon ground cumin
½ cup raisins
½ cup dried cherries
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon red cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 fresh jalapeño, seeded and chopped
finely
1 teaspoon of dried ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of roasted garlic paste
¼ cup sweet onion, chopped finely
Peel the mangos, cube into small chunks
and dispose of the pit. In a medium saucepan, simmer the dry spices, mango, sugar,
vinegar, garlic, pepper and onion for 60 minutes on low until the flavors have merged.
Store in the cooler. Use about ¼ cup of
chutney for each 12-inch pizza.
We paired our chutney with sliced white
meat chicken breast, diced prosciutto,
smoked mozzarella and jalapeños. Since the
chutney has a bit of heat, you can make your
pizza less or more spicy depending on how
many jalapeños you use in the sauce.

Creamy Ranch
We've said time and time again that you
should be making at least one or two of your
own salad dressings. Not only are they used on
your salads, but they can also be used as
dipping sauces and even pizza bases.
Our office's favorite pizza is a Buffalo chicken
pizza that uses this ranch dressing recipe from
Chef Jeff Freehof (see his story on side dishes
on page 54). I toss shredded chicken in Buffalo
sauce, use ranch as a base sauce and top the
pizza with sliced red onions, banana peppers
and bacon. A light drizzle of ranch after baking
mellows the heat a bit.
Chef Jeff's recipe is made in bulk and can be
stored in large jars or portioned into smaller
cups for delivery.
1 gallon of mayo
1 quart half and half cream
½ cup white vinegar
1 cup water
½ cup granulated garlic
1 cup onion powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
½ cup finely chopped parsley
We used the ranch dressing base with
ground Italian sausage, diced yellow and
red bell peppers, tomatoes and sweet hot
piquante peppers. This one was topped with
mozzarella and smoked gouda.
MANDY WOLF DETWILER

editor at Pizza Today.

is managing
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - March 2016

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