Roasted Pepper and Mushroom Pizza

I love making pizza! The topping possibilities are endless, and it seems magical to make a pizza from scratch. It's a fun Saturday night, movie-at-home kind of dinner because it does take a some time to make and it feels like a treat. To balance out the carb-loaded crust, I made a fresh, healthy Romaine salad as an appetizer. We opened a bottle of Alexandria Nicole 2007 Quarry Butte that paired very nicely with pizza.

Ingredients
Orange Pepper
Yellow Pepper
Roma Tomato
Romaine Lettuce
Crimini Mushrooms
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Goat Cheese
White Flour
Whole Wheat Flour
1 envelope Pizza Yeast
Salt
Sugar

Start by preparing the veggies.

1. Slice 1 Orange Pepper, 1 Yellow Pepper, 2 Roma Tomatoes, and 5 Crimini Mushrooms.
2. Set aside a few of the peppers and roma tomatoes for the salad.
3. Toss the remaining peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil until well coated.
4. Spread them on a baking sheet and sprinkle on a little course sea salt.
5. Roast at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

While the veggies are roasting, make the pizza dough.

1. Combine 1/2 cup white flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 3/4 tsp salt in a medium size bowl.
2. Add 2/3 cup very warm tap water and 3 tablespoons olive oil.
3. Mix together until well blended - about 1 minute.
4. Add gradually 1 cup white flour until soft dough is formed - should be slightly sticky. Add additional flour if needed to form dough ball.
5. Knead on a floured surface adding more flour if needed, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.
6. With floured hands, pick up the dough and begin to stretch it into a bigger circle about 8 inch diameter.
7. Lay the dough in the middle of a lightly oiled pizza stone and carefully press and stretch the dough outward to the edges of the stone.
8. Brush a good olive oil over the entire dough and sprinkle with a bit of course sea salt.
9. Add some light seasoning of your choice, such as fresh or dried basil, and red pepper flakes.
10. When the roasted veggies are done, take them out of the oven and spread them evenly onto the dough.
11. Add chunks of goat cheese to top it off.
12. Bake the pizza at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

While the pizza is baking, put the salad together.

1. In a large mixing bowl or salad bowl, pour in 1-2 tablespoons good olive oil and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar.
2. Add a dash of course sea salt and whisk it all together.
3. Add the raw peppers, tomatoes and torn romaine lettuce and toss until well coated.

The timing on this worked out perfectly so that we were able to eat our salad while the pizza was baking. Enjoy!