Cast Iron Pizza with Fontina, Bacon & Kale
White pizza till I die.
All of my loyal readers (hi mom) know that I love a white pizza. Forget tomato sauce. Give me all the olive oiley, garlicky, essentially just cheesebread-with-toppings pizza all day. Blame it on California Pizza Kitchen if you want. I just know that when I'm making a dream pizza, odds are high it's gonna be a white one.
This little winter favorite is cooked in a screaming hot cast iron pan, which feels a little reckless but provides enough of a small adrenaline rush after successfully laying the dough in that you do it anyway. The dough is thick and chewy with a crunchy golden base. Brushed with a pleasantly spicy olive oil/calabrian chili combo, it's then layered with more fontina cheese than you think you need, bacon and a pile of sautéed lacinato kale. For health of course. Baking a pizza in cast iron is the easiest way to get a quality pizza at home without a pizza stone and don't tell anyone-- but Trader Joes pizza dough is perfect for this.
Cast Iron Pizza with Fontina, Bacon and Kale
Makes one 10-12 inch pizza
Ingredients
One recipe's worth of pizza dough, about 12 oz. (I use many different pizza crusts depending on the day, how much time I have, how my hair looks that day etc. but a few faves include Jim Lahey’s, Cooks Illustrated Pizza Bianca, Simply Recipes homemade pizza dough, and of course the “crap I forgot to do the dough” option {which I love and use all the time} from Trader Joe’s).
2 tsp Calabrian Chiles in oil
2 tsp olive oil
4 pieces thick cut bacon but into 1/4 inch pieces
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch (about 4-5 leaves) Lacinato kale, stems removed and cut into 1/2 inch strips
6 oz fontina cheese, shredded
2 oz parmesan cheese, grated
Kosher salt
Black Pepper
Method
Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and heat to 475F. On a separate lightly floured work surface, roll, stretch, toss and Pizzaiolo your way to an approximate 12" round pizza dough. Cover lightly with plastic wrap or a dish towel while you prepare the toppings.
In a small bowl, combine the Calabrian chiles and olive oil. Set aside.
In cold cast iron pan, add bacon. Transfer pan to stove and over medium high heat, slowly cook the bacon until it is crispy and tender. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Remove bacon and garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside. At this point I like to further chop up the bacon mixture a little finer so then there are little pieces of what can only be described as bacon dust in addition to the smaller pieces. This makes for wider bacon distribution all over the pizza but this step is purely optional.
Carefully pour out all but about a tsp of bacon fat into a heat proof ramekin or other heat proof vessel. Add kale to pan, sautéing until slightly wilted and fragrant. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside on paper towel lined plate. Leave oil in pan. Turn off heat (the pan will be quite warm)
Here's where it gets a little dicey but I know you can do it! Carefully transfer the rolled pizza dough into the still-hot pan, using a wooden spoon to lift and stretch the dough out to the edges.
Set the pan back over medium heat. Season the top of the crust with kosher salt and black pepper. Take the Calabrian chili and olive oil mixture and spread over top of crust using the back of a spoon or pastry brush. Layer fontina, kale, bacon and a sprinkle of parmesan and black pepper on top. Carefully transfer the pan to the pre-heated oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, hitting it with the broiler for the last few minutes for additional browning if you desire.