Romesco is so good on pizza. I mean, it’s just so good. It satisfies on a number of levels. Unlike a standard tomato sauce, it won’t leave you missing the mozz. The creaminess of the ground nuts blended seamlessly into the roasted red pepper and tomato fills the dairy void so often left by vegan pizzas. And the smoky paprika and tangy sherry vinegar notes round out the perfect pizza base.

The combination of toppings is, as always when making pizza, subject to interpretation and often what you have in the fridge. However, I truly love this combo. I’ve tried adding more toppings like tomatoes or olives, but I find that they compete with the romesco sauce. And like I said above, the romesco is so good!

Here's a link to my recipe for an Extra Smoky Walnut Romesco Sauce

Mushroom and Chard Pizza with Romesco Sauce

Makes 1 12-14” pizza
 

-10-12 oz pizza dough
-all-purpose flour
-semolina flour
-1 cup mushrooms of your choosing, sliced (shiitake, crimini and oyster all work well)
-3 Swiss chard leaves, stems removed and roughly chopped
-¼ small red onion, sliced in rounds
-½ cup romesco sauce
-handful parsley, roughly chopped
-olive oil
-salt

1.     Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven and preheat to its maximum temperature.

2.     While the oven heats up, put a frying pan on medium low heat. Add a splash of olive oil and then the Swiss chard along with a pinch of salt. Sauté the chard for 30 seconds to a minute or until it just starts to wilt and lose its liquid. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

3.     Stretch out chilled pizza dough on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a pizza peel that’s been lightly dusted with semolina or all-purpose flour. Working quickly, spread out romesco sauce and then top with sautéed chard, mushrooms and red onion slices. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and send it directly into the oven. 

4.     Bake for 5-10 minutes until crust starts to brown. I like to turn it once or twice while in the oven so that it cooks more evenly. Carefully remove and place on a cooling rack for 2-3 minutes.

5.     When pizza is cool enough to handle but still hot, finish with a scattering of parsley and another drizzle of olive oil.