Way back in 2010, I won a little contest against other local food bloggers (did I mention I was a food blogger?). A family-owned Italian restaurant hosted us, prepared the pizza dough, and gave us a full array of ingredients to use any which way we chose.
The owner strongly hinted that breadcrumbs were an unexpected but highly popular topping. Most people ignored the tip, but it made me curious. Foreshadowing!
The goal was simply bragging rights, getting crowned Pizza of the Week and featured on their specials board. Oh, and also a year of free pizza!
This was no rag-tag group of food bloggers, by the way. If you heard the episode that sparked this post, then you already know these were people in the business of food:
caterers
food stylists
recipe testers
professional chefs
And so on. Oh, and me, someone who was just curious about food.
Expand Your Bubble
·
Jul 28
While all the lessons inside Benchmarks are Bullshit are time-tested and childfree Latina-approved, this is the one that is likely the scariest.
Through a blind tasting between the participants and restaurant owners, my creation won! Unfortunately the only pictures I was able to find from back then were absolute potato quality from my iPhone 4, like the specials board on the night of October 4, 2010:
My original blog post about this is over on my food blog with my heavily watermarked and bygone Flickr photos.
WARNING: It’s very Blogger/Web 1.0, so don’t be shocked. The 2010s were a fun time on the internet, weren’t they?
I’ve made this pizza at home several times since, and even my husband is a fan.
It’s super easy, especially if you’re a Trader Joe’s girlie. You can get almost ALL the ingredients there. Because this dish was made on the fly, these measurements are approximations.
Measure with your heart!
1 package Trader Joe’s plain pizza dough
1/4 cup basil pesto
Caramelized onions (yield from one large onion)
1/2 cup honey balsamic dressing
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (opt for the ones in the ziptop package, not packed in oil)
4 oz cooked pancetta, crumbled (substitute some chopped bacon if that’s easier, at least 4 slices)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
Handful of Italian breadcrumbs
Flour for rolling out the dough
Notes: this recipe assumes you already have these ingredients pre-made. If you have to make caramelized onions, start those the day before because those damn things can take an hour. Same for the pancetta/bacon and pesto, make those ahead, or buy them already made.
Following directions for the pizza dough, preheat your oven to the suggested temp. Leave your dough out to come to room temperature.
Soak the caramelized onions in the honey balsamic dressing.
Flour your worktop and roll out your pizza dough to the desired size. 12” is a good one but you’re an adult so you decide. Make it a rectangle if you’re feeling square.
Top the dough with a generous helping of pesto. You may need more than 1/4 cup. Leave an inch margin around the pizza.
Add the soaked onions, along with their soaking liquid, sun-dried tomatoes, pancetta (or bacon), and plain balsamic vinegar. Cover evenly with shredded mozzarella and then the magical part: top with breadcrumbs.
Follow the directions for baking your pizza.
Serve piping hot but don’t burn your mouth. Actually, I’m not your mom, do what you want.
If you do end up making this, please let me know! Post a picture on Instagram and tag me @pauletteerato. I’d love to see it!
And don’t forget to listen to the latest episode of La Vida Más Chévere! You can hear Expand Your Bubble on your favorite podcasting app.
Get the full show notes at PauletteErato.com. This is episode 99.
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