There's this walnut pesto recipe that I picked up somewhere along the way. It is toasted walnuts, ground with honey, thyme, olive oil, and some salt. It is earthy, sweet, and savory all at the same time, and just overall delicious. Every fall I get the urge to make it.So this fall I decided we should try it on a pizza with sweet potatoes (we have a ton left from our CSA), pears, and a little parmigiano reggiano. In theory it was a great combination, but there just wasn't enough contrast. The walnut pesto kind of baked into the crust so it almost seemed like there was no sauce, which made it slightly dry. Texturally everything was too soft and mushy, it needed a little crunch. And the taste profile was just too sweet, it needed a little acid to cut through the sweetness.
One idea I had that I think would greatly improve it, is to cook the pears gently in white wine before putting them on the pizza. And to drizzle some of the reduced wine over the pizza. I'm not sure about the texture...I'm thinking a thinner, less bready crust could take care of that. Any ideas?
Hey Rachel, Luca and I have had a problem of trying to roast potatoes and found that the best way to get the perfect crunch without the inside being either too mushy or hard was to cut and peel the potatoes first, boil them for about 10 minutes and then roast them with olive oil. I think you could get some texture in the pizza by doing this before you add it to the pizza. It would take a little more time but you gotta preheat the oven right? so perhaps you can do it while the bread is rising and have the potatoes ready by the time you're ready to put the pizza in the oven. I agree with your wine idea, that would add the perfect amount of acidity you're looking for. baci-l
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