Stuffed Squash Blossom and Zucchini White Pizza

Directions

• 1-hr Pizza Dough** (makes 4-5 personal pizza crusts)
• To make the 1-hr dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, add the honey and warm water and mix. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it begins to bloom and appear foamy.
• Next, add the oil, flour, salt and herbs and begin mixing on medium. Mix until the contents are completely incorporated and the dough forms a smooth ball around the hook (alternatively, mix by hand and knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth).
• Form the dough into a fairly tight ball and drizzle a small amount of olive oil into a large bowl. Add the dough ball to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Place the bowl in a warm place, such as an oven with the light on, until the dough has doubled in size (this will take about 1 hour).
• Once doubled, punch the dough down and divide into individual balls for each crust. When ready, press your dough into a round crust to your preference of thickness.
• Garlic White Sauce
• Start by making a quick roux in a medium saucepan or skillet large enough to hold the milk and other ingredients. Melt the butter over medium heat, then add the flour to the butter and stir thoroughly to combine. Cook over medium (or slightly lower) heat for about 5-7 minutes. You want to make sure you don’t color the flour, but just cook it. The flour should absorb most of the butter if not all. Stir frequently.
• Once the roux is done, add the milk slowly to the mixture and whisk to ensure there are no lumps. This will take a minute. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg and garlic and Increase heat to just above medium or medium-high and continue to stir and whisk. At first the mixture will seem very thin, but it will thicken up – do not add any more flour. Keep whisking until the sauce begins to boil, then reduce the heat to low. The sauce should be thick and creamy but not paste-like and not runny. Add the Parmesan or Pecorino, fully incorporate and taste for seasoning. If it is too thin, you can continue to cook for some additional time to reduce and if it is too thick you can add a little more milk and mix to the desired consistency.
• Remove from heat and cool slightly then use on your pizza dough. It will thicken as it cools, but will be creamy once cooked on the pizza.
• Stuffed Squash Blossoms
• Add the ricotta and blue cheese to a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy (approximately 2-3 minutes). For ease, add whipped cheese to a piping bag (or plastic bag wit a corner cut) and pipe the cheese into each squash blossom.
• Cooking Pizza
• Using a pizza stone is your best bet for making pizza. If you have one, place the pizza stone on a rack in the upper third of your oven and set your oven temp to as high as it will go (e.g., 450°F+). Once the oven reaches the temp, continue to let the pizza stone heat for 30 minutes while you prepare your other ingredients.
• When you are ready to cook your pizza, turn your oven to broil for 5 minutes, then add your toppings to your pizza dough – place the dough on top of a pizza peel to easily transfer to the oven. Before putting your pizza in the oven, turn the oven back to bake at the highest temp (e.g., 450°F+) and slide the pizza right onto the pizza stone using the pizza peel.
• Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until the crust begins to brown, then turn your oven back to broil and broil for another 1-2 minutes, or until the crust browns slightly more. You may get some nice bubbles in your crust that will caramelize or brown more, this is normal.
• If you do not have a pizza stone, preheat your oven to the highest temp, and place your pizza on a heavy duty baking sheet or round pizza pan and bake for the recommended time above. You may need to add a few additional minutes of baking depending on your oven temp, but check your pizza at the 5-7 minute mark and add a few additional minutes as necessary before broiling for 1-2 minutes.
• Remove your pizza from the oven and add any additional toppings, slice and serve.