Veggie Pizza with Arugula Pesto

By á-61574

A bright green arugula pesto takes this veggie pizza over the top, complementing fresh ricotta, cherry tomatoes, cremini mushrooms and chard.

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• Flour for dusting
• 1 pound frozen whole-wheat pizza dough, thawed, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups baby arugula leaves, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, loosely packed, plus 4 leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for seasoning
• 2 cups rainbow chard, loosely packed, sliced into thin strips
• 1 1/2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Dust a flat surface with flour and then roll out the pizza dough. Transfer dough to baking sheet and bake 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the arugula, the 1/2 cup of basil, 2 garlic cloves and the lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the 1/4 cup of oil and the water; pulse until a thin paste forms. Add the Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 tea-spoon of the black pepper; pulse.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Chop the remaining garlic and add it to the skillet with the chard, mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper; sauté 3 to 4 minutes until tender.

Spread 1/4 cup of pesto on the crust. Top with the vegetable mixture and tomatoes. Season the ricotta with salt and black pepper and add in dollops to the pizza. Bake until crust browns and cheese melts, 20 to 25 minutes. Slice the remaining basil and top pizza with it.