White French Bread Pizza
Ciabatta bread slathered with a roasted garlic paste and layered with three cheeses makes a delicious white pizza. A little lemon adds zest. Top with fresh arugula.
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small heads garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided
- A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, divided
- 1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese or mild provolone cheese, shredded
- 1 loaf ciabatta bread (14-16 inches long), halved lengthwise then across, creating 4 pizza crusts
- 2 cups arugula
Preparation
Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
To roast the garlic, cut the top off the whole bulbs to expose the cloves. Dress with a little EVOO and season with salt and pepper (fresh rosemary or thyme sprigs make tasty roasting companions as well). Wrap tightly in foil and roast until tender and light caramel in color, about 45-60 minutes. Let cool.
In a medium size bowl, mix the ricotta with the lemon zest, pepper flakes, thyme, 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and the salt and pepper.
Arrange the pizza crusts on two rimmed baking sheets. Spread the roasted garlic on the cut side of the bread and top with ricotta mixture, then sprinkle with the rest of the Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh mozzarella. Bake to golden, 12-15 minutes.
In a large bowl, toss the arugula with the lemon juice, EVOO, salt and pepper; top the pizzas with the greens when the pizzas come out of the oven.
