Potato Leek Pizza

I LOVE this pizza.  I love the thinly sliced potatoes.  I love the bacon and the leeks cooked in the bacon grease.  Mmmmmm.  I love the goat cheese.  I love that there's not red sauce (not my fave), only a drizzle of olive oil.  I love the combination of all the flavors.  Mmmm, mmmm, MMMMMM.  I'd kill for a slice right now.

 

POTATO LEEK PIZZA

• pizza crust (I buy the pizza dough from Trader Joe's.  I'm a little lazy on this step.)
• olive oil
• kosher salt
• thick cut bacon, 10 slices, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4-5 leeks, rinsed well, thinly sliced (see note below on leeks)
• 3-4 small red or Yukon gold potatoes, sliced paper thin
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
• grated Parmesan cheese
• freshly ground black pepper

Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 500 degrees.


Roll out the dough on parchment paper.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.


Cook the bacon over medium heat.  Fry until cooked, but not crisp.  Remove the bacon from pan and set aside.


Pour off most of the grease.  Do not clean the pan.  Turn the heat to medium-low. 


Add the leeks to the pan and saute over medium-low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and set aside.


Using a very sharp knife, slice the potatoes very thin.  Don't do this ahead of time because the potatoes will brown quickly. 


Arrange the potatoes in a single layer all over the crust, slightly overlapping the edges.  Sprinkle the potatoes lightly with salt. 


Lay the mozzarella slices in a single layer on top of the potatoes. 


Then add the following toppings is this order:  leeks, bacon, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, freshly ground pepper. 


Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges of the crust are golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly. 


NOTES:

• If you're new to leeks, a few pointers might be helpful.  Cut off the green tops.  You should be using the bottom where it is mostly white.  I slice them the long ways in half and then thinly slice each side.  Put them in a collander and rinse thoroughly to get all the grit out. 
• Rolling the dough on parchment makes it easier to put the pizza into the oven. 
• I would recommend using the Trader Joe's dough to make two smaller pizzas.  When I've made one big pizza, it's been hard to transfer it from the pizza peel to the stone and back out when it's finished cooking.  I've lost toppings trying to do it. 
• Don't get the mozzarella too close to the edge.  Gets a little messy. 

Source:  Pioneer Woman (modified slightly)