Zucchini ribbon pizza

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Zucchini ribbon pizza

Zucchini is one of those things that you get so much of at the end of the summer that you don't know what to do with them.They can grow to the size of golden retriever puppies and whatever appreciation I had for them in the middle of the winter has dwindled away by August. 

That said, they can still be a colorful and tasty topping on pizza - especially in photogenic ribbons as shown above. On a base of garlic and thyme infused ricotta, this pizza makes a light summer meal.

I used:

1 pound pizza dough, rolled out as thinly as it will go

1 each yellow and green zucchini (you won't use them up)

1/2 ricotta cheese (I am a coward and used fat free but I'm sure the fatty kind will taste much better!)

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons dried thyme (or a tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme)

1/3 cup lightly grated pecorino cheese

several kalamata olives (I used pitted)

a shake of salt (not pictured)

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Mince the garlic as finely as you can and add to the ricotta. Add a shake of salt.

Add the thyme, and mix well with a spatula. Set aside, and make ribbons out of the zucchini using a vegetable peeler. You can make both yellow and green ribbons, or thin rounds out of one of them, or a mixture of everything.

Spread the ricotta mixture on the dough thinly. Sprinkle half of the grated pecorino, then heap on the zucchini ribbons. Be artistic! Accentuate with a kalamata olive here and there, and dust with another flurry of pecorino. 

Pop in the lower rack of your oven (preheated to 400F) for 12 minutes or until your crust starts turning golden and crispy. 

Serve immediately with a cool glass of white wine.   Enjoy!