WOOD FIRED CRUST
HICKORY ROMESCO SAUCE
SPANISH SPICED GRILLED CHICKEN
MOZZARELLA & PROVOLONE CHEESES
GREMOLATA
Most weeks, new pizza ideas come from a single ingredient. Like this one - we were surprised with abundance of red bell peppers from Park Ridge Organics. And I instantly thought about romesco.
Romesco was born from Spanish port city residents who didn't know exactly what to do with these strange new foods from The Americas in the 15 & 1600's. Peppers and tomatoes were completely foreign to them. They eventually began to roast and grind a combination of these new fruits with old bread, olive oil, garlic, and nuts. This resulting delicious, robust sauce was, and still is, loved on almost everything.
I toasted a pile of local hickory nuts for this batch, and the flavor is so incredible. Paired with a simple hickory grilled chicken that I rubbed with Spanish-inspired spices, the pizza is topped with cheeses and finished with a bright gremolata (a big word for a beautifully simple blend of fresh garlic, parsley, lemon, and breadcrumbs). This pizza was the hardest I've worked on a new item in years. Truly. I had to take 2 Aleve before I could sit down to write this. But it was a labor of love, and I hope you love this one as much as I do!
[I originally named this The Hickory Dickory Pizza but everyone told me I had to change it even though it's a nursery rhyme.]