Mushroom, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

One of the great perks of living in British Columbia’s rainforest is the abundance of wild forest mushrooms. Chanterelles, pine, chicken of the woods, porcini... I encourage you to experiment with the different varieties and find what best suits you. The key to this pizza is the earthiness of the mushrooms and the sweetness of the caramelized onions. And the acidic nature of the goat cheese really perks it up. 2 tbsp butter ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil, divided 2 onions, thinly sliced ½ lb shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed, cleaned and sliced ½-inch thick 2 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned and diced ½ lb cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced ½-inch thick ½ tsp salt Pizza dough (see recipe, next page) 1 to 2 cups red sauce (see recipe, next page) 1 cup pumpkin seed pesto (see recipe, next page) 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 1 cup crumbled soft goat cheese 2 cups baby arugula

In a medium heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat, add the butter and 2 tbsp of the olive oil. As soon as the butter melts, add the onions and turn the heat to mediumlow, stirring the onions frequently to prevent them from burning, until they reach a rich, dark brown (about 20 to 30 minutes). By cooking low and slow, you are creating so much flavour, bringing out the onion’s natural sweetness without any sharp, bitter taste. If the onions start to stick or burn, turn the heat to low and add 1 tbsp water. Stir too much and the onions won’t brown; stir too little and they burn. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Heat the remaining ¼ cup olive oil in a separate medium heavy-bottomed frying pan over high heat. As soon as it starts to smoke, add all the mushrooms and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). Remove from the heat and season with the salt.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Form the dough for one pizza at a time on its floured pan.

Once you have shaped one piece of dough, immediately spoon ¼ cup red sauce and ¼ cup pesto on top. Use a spatula or the back of the spoon to spread them out evenly. Sprinkle with one-quarter of the onions, ¾ cup mozzarella, onequarter of the mushrooms and ¼ cup goat cheese.

Repeat the shaping and topping process with the remaining balls of dough. Bake each pizza for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese golden. Remove from the oven and garnish with arugula.

Makes four 10-inch pizzas.