Fennel is the secret ingredient and a main component to these mini pizzas incorporating not only the bulb and stalks, but also the seeds, which are central to authentic Italian cooking.
The fun thing about pizza is that I can throw a bunch of seemingly unrelated items together and make something new. I’ve been experimenting and have found that almost any combination that tastes good on a salad will also be good on a pizza.
Recipe for mini pizzas with a classic herb and cheese crust, good olive oil and balsamic vinegar instead of tomato sauce. Topped with a hot layer of fennel and blue cheese, and a cold layer of Spanish cured meats and fresh tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 package pre-made pizza dough - I used Trader Joe's herb crust
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal - for the pan
- 2 tablespoons good olive oil I use California Olive Ranch, Miller's Blend - plus enough extra to grease your pizza pan ( I use a spray pump to coat the pan)
- 1 tablespoon good balsamic vinegar
- 1 small bulb of fresh fennel
- 2 tablespoons of grated Romano/Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon hot chili pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
- ½ cup blue cheese crumbled
- 8 slices of thinly sliced spanish prosciutto
- 8 slices of thinly sliced dry spanish chorizo
- 2 fresh heirloom tomatoes sliced thin.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 480 degrees. Spray a large pizza pan or stone olive oil and dust with corn meal. Divide your pizza dough into eight pieces. Flatten each piece onto the pan using a rolling pin or stretch with your hands. Using a pastry brush, paint each pizza with a thin layer of olive oil. Follow by brushing on the balsamic vinegar. Then, sprinkle each pizza evenly with Parmesan/Romano cheese, hot pepper flakes, pizza spice and fennel seeds.
- Remove the foliage and all but and inch or two of the stalk from the top of the fennel bulb. Cut off the bottom 1/2" of the bulb and discard. Set the bulb with the flat bottom facing you. Slice vertically through the remaining bulb, creating long very thin cross-sections of fennel. Place a slice of fennel onto each pizza and then top with the blue cheese crumbles.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the pizzas are nicely browned and cooked throughout.
- Remove from the oven. Tuck a piece of chorizo and a piece of prosciutto next to each other and anchor with a tomato slice.
- Serve immediately.
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