Potato Pizza

Some of the most memorable parts of my college years were from living and studying abroad.  The college I attended, Goshen College, actually required all of its students to spend at least 3 months living, studying and serving in another culture in order to matriculate.  Having already lived half my life in Asia at that point, I decided it was time to visit Europe.

My three months were spent in the former East Germany (which had only been reunified with the West for a couple of years) and some of the conditions we encountered in rural villages had a lot in common with developing countries in Asia.  But I also got to travel to other parts of Europe – both East and West – and I will never forget the week I spent in Rome.

In Germany, we lived in Soviet era dorms with only a hot plate and a mini-fridge for a kitchen.  And the restaurants were really expensive.  So we were subsisting on instant oatmeal and apples (and pretty much starving) by the time we wound up in Italy.  I will never forget getting off the train, being propositioned by the first Italian man I saw, getting rid of him and finding myself face to face with a pizza shop.  The pizza was affordable, insanely delicious and even quite nutritious if compared to our German diet.  And it was in Rome that I discovered potato pizza.

The dish seemed pretty basic – pizza dough, olive oil, thin sliced potatoes and salt and pepper. And although I ate it several times that week, I’ve never tasted it again.  I’ve always wondered if the love I feel for the dish is result of its true greatness – or was partly occasioned by the malnutrition that had been setting it.

This weekend, I finally purchased a new Kitchen Aid food processor and I decided to inaugurate it with a recreation of my beloved potato pizza.  I scoured the Internet to get some ideas  but, in the end, created my own recipe, departing slightly from the Roman original.

I decided to add goat cheese to my potato pizza – and also threw a few things into the goat cheese to make it more spreadable and to add some fresh flavors.  While the result was not an exact replica of the pizza I remember from Italy, it was, in my humble opinion, even better.  The goat cheese, fresh parsley and lemon offset the crispy and tender potatoes perfectly.  Even the Professor, who was highly skeptical of the entire concept, was won over at the end.

My recipe is after the jump.

First prepare enough dough for one large pizza crust.  I like Mark Bittman’s seriously easy “recipe“.

For the toppings, you’ll need:

2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced very thin

4 T. olive oil

Sea salt

One lemon

1 T. rosemary

6 oz. goat cheese

1/2 c. fresh Italian parsley, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, also chopped very fine (optional)

After slicing the potatoes, wash to remove excess starch, dry them and then add about a tablespoon or so of sea salt.  Let set for 15 min. to draw out excess moisture.  After 15 min. you should have some liquid collecting in the bottom of the bowl, pour it out and then squeeze the potatoes in your hand to remove as much remaining liquid as possible before mixing them together with 2 T. olive oil, rosemary and a little lemon juice.  Set aside.

Then mix to gether the goat cheese, half of the parsely, 2 T. olive oil and a little more lemon juice.  I used the food processor which produce a nice creamy and consistent spread – but doing it by hand should also work.  Add a little chopped fresh garlic if you desire.

Spread the finished cheese mixture on prepared pizza dough and then cover completety with a thin layer of the sliced potatoes.

Bake for 10-12 minutes then remove the pizza, drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle on reminaing fresh parsley and add some ground, fresh pepper to taste.