
Root to Leaf is one of our favorite vegetarian cookbooks of the year. If you’re a fan of celebrated chefs who use every bit of their raw materials, please welcome to your kitchen James Beard-nominated chef Steven Satterfield. His award-winning Atlanta restaurant, Miller Union, serves simple, upscale, imaginative vegetable dishes that you can easily re-create at home.
Pizza is the ideal showcase for the green onions of spring. It cooks quickly, allowing these tender shoots and their bulbs to meld with oozing mozzarella and fresh garden herbs. A pizza stone allows for the ultimate crispy crust, whether you’re using your grill or oven. I like to make my own half-whole-wheat crust, but there are plenty of good premade versions available if you don’t have the time to make pizza dough from scratch.
Ingredients
- 1 ball whole-wheat pizza dough
- 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
- 1 spring leek, thinly sliced
- 1 stalk green garlic, thinly sliced (or 1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped)
- 2 scallions, halved lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 8 pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh marjoram, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- fresh parsley, chopped
Directions
- Place a pizza stone in the oven or on the grill and heat to 500°F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pizza dough to fit the pizza stone. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured cookie sheet or upside-down baking sheet. This will be the vessel to help transfer the pizza to the hot stone.
- Scatter the onion, leek, garlic, and scallions evenly across the surface of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Place the mozzarella pieces randomly across the pizza with space in between them. Sprinkle the oregano, marjoram, and thyme over the pizza. Drizzle the pizza lightly with olive oil.
- With a long, wide spatula, transfer the pizza carefully onto the hot stone. If grilling, close the lid to the grill. Let the pizza cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the dough is fully cooked and crispy on the edges and the toppings are beginning to lightly brown. Cooking time will vary, depending on your grill or oven and the thickness of the crust. If baking in the oven, and the dough is done but the toppings are not, turn on the broiler to finish baking.
- When the pizza is ready, remove with a long, wide spatula and transfer back to the cookie sheet or upside-down baking sheet to cool slightly. Slice the pizza and garnish with fresh parsley.
Editor’s note: If you can’t readily find spring onions, which look like scallions with larger, onion-like red or white bulbs, simply use another scallion in its place.
In the mood for more vegetarian pizza? Find these recipes on Food Republic: