Last night I discovered that I had a beautiful bunch of watercress in my refrigerator that I had forgotten about and went scrambling for a way to use it up. My daughter wanted pizza, so I decided to pair the two. After searching the internet, I decided to take some of the various ideas I had seen and come up with my own version of a white pizza topped with watercress. The result was tantalizingly yummy! So much so that my 18-month old son ate two toddler-sized pieces! So here's what I did:
First, I pressed 4 garlic cloves through a garlic press. Then I topped the garlic with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, added a little ground pepper, and used the back of a wooden spoon to mash the garlic into the oil. I brushed the garlic oil onto a pre-made pizza crust. Then I added a layer of ricotta cheese and topped that with a layer of shredded mozzarella. Next I added sliced chorizo sausage that I had sauteed first; watercress that I had washed, chopped, and drizzled with a bit of the leftover garlic oil, and seasoned with a little salt and pepper; and finally sliced red and orange mini sweet peppers. I put it in the oven at 350 and baked until the cheese was melted and the crust browned. I served it alongside a fresh garden salad. Even my husband, who is not usually a fan of white pizza, admitted that this was delicious!
One side note: Next time I make this recipe, I plan to add the watercress about halfway through baking instead of the start. It ended up a little over done. I'd prefer to have it just slightly wilted. Oh, and don't waste the left-over garlic oil! I mixed mine with a little balsamic vinegar and added some dried herbs for a tasty salad dressing.
