#85 - Pancetta, Cherry Tomato, Burrata, and Scallion Pizza

Apparently Borders went out of business. So when we saw signs outside for like 100% off, we went inside and found some cookbooks for super cheap. One of them was by Jonathan Waxman, the Obi Wan of Top Chef Masters, and we snatched it right up.

Pancetta, Cherry Tomato, Burrata, and Scallion Pizza

From Italian My Way The recipe is a pizza with burrata cheese, an extra creamy mozzarella. If you can't find any at your grocery store, normal mozzarella will work, and it'll only be a little different than intended. Besides the burrata, the other main ingredients are cherry tomatoes and scallions. So chop and mix. Then you roll out the dough (we used some from our favorite New Jersey bakery, but Waxman's got his own recipe for that too), and then add chopped pancetta, the tomato-scallion mix, and the burrata. This was a bizarre pizza. The burrata makes the whole thing soupy - in a good way - and the green scallions, which don't look like the most appetizing pizza toppings, go really well with the pancetta and tomatoes.

So the recipe, despite its eclectic ingredients, is actually really good. Our biggest issue was that we didn't cook it just right, so the bottom of the crust was a little underdone, but that was our fault. If you can find burrata, you might wanna try this. Just make to sure cook it through.

Ingredients

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1/2 lb burrata
• 1 lb pizza dough
• 1/2 cup pancetta, diced into small pieces
• 1/4 cup Parmigiano cheese
• 2 Tbs olive oil, plus extra for greasing the pan

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 450.
2. Slice the tomatoes in half on the equator and place in a bowl.
3. Mince the scallions, add to the tomatoes, and toss well.
4. Dice the burrata into small pieces.
5. Lightly brush the bottom of the pizza pan with olive oil.
6. Roll out the dough on a working surface using a small amount of flour and your hands.
7. Transfer the rolled dough to the greased pan.
8. Sprinkle the dough with the pancetta, then the scallions and tomatoes, and finally the burrata.
9. Spread the Parmigiano evenly over the pizza and drizzle the oil on top.
10. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden on the top and bottom.
11. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.