Taleggio Pizza w/Truffle Olive Oil & Artichokes

Last weekend, I threw a small (kind of small, but big in personality) fondue party.  Throwing a fondue party means, clearly, that you need cheese.  More than anything, you need good cheese.  Where does one get good cheese in most major cities in America? Whole Foods.  Or, Fresh Market…or Trader Joes…it just kind of depends where you are.  For me that place was Whole Foods.

Whilst picking out an assortment cheese, Jeramey decided we needed to try Limburger–one of the most notoriously stinky cheeses in the world.  I had never had, smelled, or tried Limburger before, so I was completely game.  However, believe it or not, this stinky cheese (of Netherlands/Belgium/Germany fame) was both sold out and unavailable to smell.  Fortunately, in our search for stinky cheese, the Cheese Guy at Whole Foods took an interest in us and introduced us to “Taleggio” Cheese.

What followed was a 10 minute conversation about ways in which Taleggio can be used–although a rather pungent, odorous cheese, taleggio is actually a rather mild, creamy cheese, it just happens to be the rind that stinks so badly.  According to the Cheese specialist at Whole Foods, recipes–like this one–are gaining in popularity, especially when prepared with the addition of truffle oil.  Not having truffle oil on hand, I used Truffle Infused Olive Oil from Vom Fass to make a rather stellar recipe of stinky cheese, artichokes, and olives.

This bizarre fusion of ingredients makes for a unique spin on your everyday pizza.  Granted, the cheese may smell awful during the preparation process, but the final product is creamy, yummy, and oh so clearly delicious.

Taleggio Pizza w/Truffle Olive Oil & Artichokes

This recipe, comes in part from word of mouth, but the original is listed over at Epicurious.com (and can be found here).  Although the original calls for the use of mushrooms, a combination of other vegetables will work nicely here as well–artichokes, olives, or spinach are several of my favorites if you do not have mushrooms on hand.

Ingredients:

* 1 lb pizza dough
* 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms (I used artichokes, green onions, and olives)
* 1-2 cups Taleggio Cheese, rine removed and shredded or cut into thin pieces
* 2 tablespoons truffle olive oil, OR 1 teaspoon truffle oil

Devices Needed:

* 1 Pizza Stone

1.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Begin by dusting your pizza stone with corn meal.

2.) Lightly flour a clean working surface.

3.) Roll out your pizza dough to 13-14 inches in diameter.  Pizza dough that is pre-prepared, frozen, and thawed is very easy to work with; whereas, if you had just made the pizza dough from scratch, this step would take you twice as long because of the natural elasticity of the freshly made dough.

4.) Transfer dough to pizza stone.  Thoroughly poke holes in dough using a fork.  Drizzle dough with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and smooth with a large spoon.

5.) Add sauce.  I suggest anywhere from 1-2 cups based on your preference (some people HATE large quantities of sauce and some people love it, so add as much as you like).

6.) Season the sauce and dough mixture with half of the thyme and half of the italian seasoning.  Add freshly minced/pressed garlic and crack some pepper over the surface of the pizza.  Dust with Tony’s and sprinkle on pine nuts.

7.) Now, begin adding your toppings: mushrooms are suggested by the Epicurious chefs, but I chose a mixture of olives, green onions, and artichokes.  Sprinkle your remaining seasonings–thyme and Italian–and dust with Tony’s and freshly cracked pepper.

8.) Cover in chunks of Taleggio cheese.

9.) Cook on pizza stone, but in oven at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until crust and toppings are golden brown.  Remove from oven, allow to cool for several minutes, and cut into 8 pieces.

10.) Serve with freshly grated parmesan, red pepper flakes, and your favorite beer.  Enjoy!

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