Pizza with Charred Tomatoes, Broccolini, & Fontina

Mama miaaa, pizza pizzzza! La la la laa doop ee do

Pizza is amazing, right? Melty cheese, crisp chewable crust, and any topping your lil heart desires. Although I enjoy the classics, fancy gourmet styled pizzas get me super excited. Unique flavors help spice up weekly pizza nights, making it exciting and kind of adventurous! I love when a strange flavor combination makes you skeptical…but then you take bite and can’t imagine life without the drool worthy ingredients you just tasted. This recipe makes that kind of pizzas.

Lightly blanched broccolini gets tossed in homemade garlic oil with just the teensiest hint of spice. On top of the dough you toss on charred cherry tomatoes, scatter those garlicky greens, and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts. After packing it full of all those toppings, layer everything with slices of fontina. While baking, the cheese melts into the most amazing gooeines. Its going to make you rethink your pizza cheeses. Seriously. It’s so good.

At first my folks were a little uneasy when they saw what I put on this pizza. They asked why pine nuts? Why tangy fontina? Why no sauce? But after trying it, they fell in love. The pine nuts give you subtle nuttiness. The fontina tang stands up to pungent garlic. The charred tomatoes make you forget about sauce! Everything has a purpose! Even my mom (who is a Parmesan addict) didn’t think that it needed any extras…and that’s saying something!

**I know the directions seem like a lot of stuff, but this recipe allows you to do multiple things at once without any issues!**

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves (minced)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Pizza dough

1/2 – 3/4 bundle broccolini

20 cherry tomatoes (halved)

1 tablespoon pine nuts

3-4 oz fontina (sliced)

Salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. **time saving tip** Put the halved tomatoes on a baking sheet and stick into the oven while it’s preheating. In about 8 minutes the tomatoes will have a light char! Remove from oven and reserve.

In a small saucepan over low heat, add the oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes. Heat for 5-10 minutes, or until garlic softens and no longer looks raw. Turn off heat; cool.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add in a pinch of salt and the broccolini. Blanch for 3-5 minutes, or until fork tender (don’t worry if they aren’t fully cooked, they finish in the oven). Drain and put broccolini in a bowl of ice water for 1-2 minutes (this preserves the bright green color). Drain. Reserve.

In a small skillet, add the pine nuts over medium heat. Toss until toasted (3-5 minutes). Turn off heat. Reserve.

Take a pizza stone or baking sheet and roll out your pizza dough to fit. Drizzle with1/2+ of the spiced garlic oil and layer with broccolini (extra oil is for dipping). Scatter the charred tomatoes and toasted pine nuts. Layer with fontina. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Put into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is cooked to your desired doneness.

Serve hot and enjoy!