Persillade is the French name for a mixture of garlic and parsley. Versatile and delicious, it adds a nice punch to just about any dish. This is a white pizza with ham, peas, and persillade. You may omit the cheese if you would like a dairy free pie. Use any dough you would like whether it is you own homemade or a store-bought version. This is a loose recipe, but best made in a sheet pan or jelly roll pan with sides as the olive oil might drip over the edges of a pizza if made on a stone. However, if you do want to make it on a stone, make sure the oil is away from the edge and the edge is at least 1 inch wide.
1 ball of pizza dough of choice, homemade or store bought,
about 1 lb, enough to fit a half-sheet pan
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley, approximately
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
grated zest from one lemon
1 cup shelled peas, blanched for 1 minutes in boiling water. Or use frozen baby
peas, thawed
Freshly ground black pepper
6 to 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced and torn into pieces or coarsely grated, optional
4 slices baked ham, torn in pieces
Place a rack in the lower third of your oven and place pizza stone on the oven to preheat, if using. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. If using a store-bought pre-rolled pizza dough, follow manufacturer's directions for preheating.
If you do not have a pizza stone, oil a ½ sheet or jellyroll pan or other baking sheet with sides. Set aside.
Mix the olive oil, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, peas, and pepper in a medium bowl.
On a pizza peel spread flour or cornmeal. Gently stretch the dough over the back of the knuckles on the peel. If you are using a sheet pan, gently stretch the dough to fit. You may need to let the dough rest for 10 minutes or so if it becomes too stretchy.
Spread the mixture evenly over the dough with the back of a spoon. Scatter the pieces of cheese, if using, and ham over the pea mixture.
Slide the pizza onto the preheated stone or place the sheet pan in the oven. Bake the pizza until sizzling and crust is crisp on bottom and sides, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the dough.
Remove the pizza from the oven and let rest 5 to 10 minutes.
Recipe and Photograph Copyright Deirdre Davis 2016
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