Potato Leek Pizza

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My best friend Amy and I don't get to spend as much time with each other as we would like. We both have have demanding jobs and a child each that requires constant care and transportation to and for. So when we are able to get together, we try and do things that only the other would truly appreciate. Like going to see the movie Letters to Juliet this weekend. A chick flick through and through it was delightful and will have you looking for the first flight to Italy.

Potato Leek Pizza is another thing that I knew both of us would enjoy. Potatoes on pizza doesn't seem like a natural pairing but I enjoyed it the first time I had it in Barcelona a couple of years ago so this recipe caught my eye the first time I skimmed the pages of The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I cheated a little and used a refrigerated pizza crust and found it worked just fine. Thinly sliced potatoes, and they must be thin in order to cook quickly this is a job for a mandoline, are topped with leeks cooked in bacon fat. Seriously, isn't anything cooked in bacon fat just plain good? Pizza isn't pizza without cheese, right? The cheese here comes from three, yes I said three, different cheese; slabs of fresh mozzerella, puddles of creamy goat cheese, and grated Parmesan. The pizza is finished off with crispy bacon. A quick ten minutes or so in a blazing hot oven and you have a pizza that feels homey, yet sophisticated. Glass of wine in one hand and a slice of this in the other and I was a happy girl!

Potato Leek Pizza

Pioneer Woman Cooks - Ree Drummond

Pizza Crust
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 leeks, rinsed well and thinly sliced
5 small red or Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced paper thin
1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
4 ouncess goat cheese, crumbled
Grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat ovent to 500 degrees F.

Prepare the pizza crust and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt

Cook bacon over medium heat until cooked but not crisp.

Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside

Pour off most of the grease. Do not clean the skillet. Return the skillet to the stove and turn the heat to medium-low.

Add the leeks to the pan and saute over medium-low heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Using a sharp knofe or mandoline, slice the potatoes very thin. You'll need to do this just before you need them as they will brown very quickly.

Arrange the potatoes in a single layer all over the crust, slightly overlapping the edges.

Sprinkle the potatoes lightly with salt, then lay the mozzarella slices in a single layer on top of the potatoes.

Place the leeks on top of the cheese.

Sprinkle the fried bacon over the top.

Add the goat cheese, grated Parmesan, and a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.

Bake for 8 to 11 minutes or until the edges of the crust are golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut into wedges or squares and serve immediately.

NOTES: I found 3 smallish Yukon Gold potatoes to be perfect. I also only used about 1/2 pound of mozzarella and it was plenty cheesy. I probably didn't use a full 4 ounces of goat cheese either.