Mushroom, bechamel, and cheese pizzette

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 Recipe pizza dough
1 pounds Mushrooms
2 tablespoons Unsalted butter
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup Bechamel sauce
½ pounds Gruyere cheese;freshly grate
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese; fresh grate
2 tablespoons Unsalted butter

Directions

"The cuisine of Piedmont in Italy has a decidedly French undertone. Where else would you eat pizza with Bechamel Sauce? If you think this combination is a bit rich, Waverly Root, in "The Food of Italy," describes a similar pizzette to which freshly grated white truffle was added. Extravagant, yes, but absolutely scrumptious. Dried porcini or fresh golden oak mushrooms would also make an excellent and less expensive variation." Preheat the oven to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Lightly coat a baking sheet with vegetable oil.

Clean mushrooms and slice thin, then saute them in 2 tablespoons of butter until all their excess liquid has evaporated.

Divide 1 recipe pizza dough into 6 or 10 or 12 equal pieces and roll or press out each ball to the desired size. Arrange the pizzettes on one or more prepared baking sheets. Spread each pizzette with some Bechamel Sauce.

Distribute the mushrooms over the sauce and top with the cheeses. Dot each pizzette with butter and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden.

Yield: 6 6-inch appetizers size OR 10 to 12 4-inch party size pizzette.

NOTE: Slomon suggests these crusts: Basic Pizza, Sicilian-style, Semolina, Pepper-Lard, Sausage, Prosciutto, Herb, or Onion dough.

VARIATIONS

Soak 2 ounces of porcini in boiling water to cover for 10 minutes. Rinse them well to rid them of their sand. Chop them roughly and saute them in 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the Bechamel and proceed with the recipe.

Fresh golden oak (also known as shiitake mushrooms) or other wild mushrooms can be substituted for cultivate mushrooms. Halve the amount indicated in the recipe and prepare them in the same manner as regular mushrooms.

Source: "The Pizza Book" by Evelyn Slomon Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V3 #263 Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 03:11:28 +0000 From: Linda Place <placel@...>

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