Mushroom, Ricotta and Asiago Cheese Pizza

If you like mushrooms and cheese, this is the pizza for you. In addition to the cheese used for the topping, the no yeast crust contains cottage cheese. The flavour of three different types of mushrooms provide a perfect earthy complement to the cheese. It takes a while to make, but every delicious bite makes it worth the effort. It's very filling, so all you need is a simple salad for a very satisfying meal.

Mushroom, Ricotta, Asiago Cheese Pizza

For the crust:

3 tablespoons of cornmeal
2 cups of unbleached white flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
3/4 cup of cottage cheese
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of milk
2 tablespoons of olive oil

For the sauce:

3 medium sized tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 can of tomato paste (78 mL or 2.75 fl oz)
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 bay leaf, crushed
2 - 3 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the topping:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
2 green chillies, finely chopped
2 cups of mixed mushrooms (cremini, portobello, white), sliced
1 - 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano
8 ounces of asiago cheese, sliced or shredded
1/4 - 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese

Begin by making the sauce. Place all the ingredients in a medium sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and set aside.

While the sauce is cooking, prepare the topping and crust.

For the crust, sprinkle the cornmeal over a greased 12 inch pizza pan. Set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, all of the olive oil, sugar and milk. Whisk together until smoothly pureed. Add the flour mixture, and stir just until the mixture begins to form until a dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead several times, until the dough holds together. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin and transfer to the pizza pan. Alternately, you can flour your hands and flatten and stretch the dough with your fingers on the pizza pan.

To make the topping, in a large frying pan, fry the garlic, green chillies, mushrooms and oregano in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender.

To complete the pizza, spread the tomato sauce over the pizza dough. Brush the edges with a bit of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cheese. For the ricotta, use a small spoon to scoop small dollops of cheese over the pizza.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Garnish with a few fresh leaves of oregano.