Lemon-Rosemary Chicken, Camembert, Comte, Pizza
This may look like an Italian pizza, but the taste profile is unmistakably French. The brightness of the lemon and rosemary are not lost under the earthiness and complexity of the Camembert & Comté cheeses. This flavourful pizza pairs beautifully with Plan Pegau. A medium bodied red wine with loads of cherry fruit, light peppery notes, and a touch of Châteauneuf funk.
Equipment
- Pizza Oven (optional) or pizza stone for the oven.
- Two glass containers with tight fitting lid.
- Pizza Peel
Ingredients
- 700 g ball of pizza dough divided into 2 x 350 g balls keep in lightly oiled glass containers with tight fitting lid.
Lemon Rosemary Chicken:
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 340 g chicken breast, sliced into bite sized strips (12 oz )
Sauce:
- 1½ cup crushed tomatoes or passata
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Toppings:
- 1½ cup packed baby spinach leaves about 40 leaves
- 1 head of garlic roasted
- 100 g of zucchini 20 - 24 very thin slices
- ½ small red onion sliced very thin
- 150 g Camembert thinly sliced
- Zest of one lemon
- 80 g Comte cheese shaved strips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
- Remove the pizza dough from the fridge 60 minutes before you plan to use it to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Cut head of garlic, about ¼ inch from the top, to expose the tops of the cloves. Place garlic head, cut side up, in a sheet of foil. Drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Fold up all sides of the foil and cover tightly.
- Place on a small sheet pan in the oven and roast until cloves are golden brown and tender, about 40-50 minutes. Set aside until ready to top the pizzas.
- In medium sized bowl, add garlic, oil, rosemary, Dijon, lemon juice, salt & pepper, whisk to combine. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat. Let marinade for 10-15 minutes.
- Mix all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add marinated chicken to the skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove to plate and set aside.
- If using a pizza oven, preheat the centre of the stone to between 850°F – 900°F. Cook time about 90 seconds.
- If using an oven, place a pizza stone on the lowest rack of your cold oven and preheat to 450°F. The stone will require 15-20 minutes longer to come to temperature than your oven. Cook time 12-16 minutes.
- When the cooking source has preheated, place one dough ball on a floured work surface and work with your hands to stretch to approximately an 11” (28cm) circle. Alternatively, use a rolling pin to roll out an 11” circle (do not stress, it doesn’t need to be a perfect circle!) The dough should not be sticky so continue to dust with flour while you stretch it out.
- Place the stretched dough on a pizza peel, dusted with flour (or the back of a sheet pan that has been dusted with flour). Work quickly now to place the toppings on the pizza. Also, do not overload the pizza or it will stick to the peel (or sheet pan).
- Begin with a layer of tomato sauce, half the spinach, half the chicken, dollops of half the garlic, half the zucchini, half the onions, half the camembert.
TO COOK:
- Pizza oven – slide the pizza into the hot oven as far away from the live flame as possible. As the edges begin to rise, rotate the pizza ¼ turn. Continue to turn every 10 to 20 seconds until the pizza crust is cooked through and the toppings are hot. Total cook time approximately 90 seconds.
- Oven – slide the pizza onto the hot pizza stone. Cook the pizza until the crust is cooked through and the toppings are hot, carefully rotating the pizza/stone 3 to 4 times while it cooks. Total cook time 10-14 minutes.
- When to pizza is cooked, zest ½ a lemon over the pizza and finish with 40 g of Comte, thinly peeled (using a vegetable peeler) over the entire pizza.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
COOK’S TIP:
If cooking the pizza in the oven, it is often easier to bake the dough prior to adding toppings. To do this, add the dough to the hot stone and cook for 4-6 minutes until the dough begins to rise and brown on the edges. Remove the dough to the peel (or sheet pan). Let the dough cool for a few minutes, shaking it occasionally so it does not stick. Then proceed to add the toppings and finish the cooking process.
If cooking the pizza in the oven, it is often easier to bake the dough prior to adding toppings. To do this, add the dough to the hot stone and cook for 4-6 minutes until the dough begins to rise and brown on the edges. Remove the dough to the peel (or sheet pan). Let the dough cool for a few minutes, shaking it occasionally so it does not stick. Then proceed to add the toppings and finish the cooking process.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!