– by Jennifer Bowles –
Pizza is one of those foods that has become wildly interpretive. The obvious go-to version is the classic pepperoni and cheese. A crust slathered in hearty tomato oregano sauce with disks of spicy pepperoni and gooey mozzarella cheese: a definite Friday night treat. But our little pie has seen several new toppings over the last while that range from butter chicken, perogies and steak and potato to the s’more pie that boasts a layer of burnt marshmallows, chocolate chunks and a graham cracker crust. This doesn’t really qualify as a “pizza” in my books but lands the number one spot for whimsical!
This month I push the limits (somewhat) with a pizza that I made several years ago when I was feeling experimental. Flipping through one of my Mom’s old cookbooks I saw the long-time marriage of cheese and melon as an appetizer. I started thinking that a fantastic vehicle for these two would be a pizza crust. I played with this a lot until I finally struck my final product. Born that day was my gorgeous cantaloupe and mozzarella pizza with toasted cashews. Sweet, salty and savoury, this pizza has it all and it truly is a great flavour combination that is so simple to create any day of the week.
1 small to medium cantaloupe, cut into small chunks
1 large pizza crust (homemade if you like, but the packets are just as delicious)
1 block of good mozzarella cheese, grated
1/3 cup of cashew nuts crushed
1 red onion
1/3 cup basil chopped
olive oil
coarse salt
Sprinkle your pizza crust with a healthy amount of coarse salt and olive oil. Next layer with very thinly-sliced red onion (if you have a mandolin for slicing, that is ideal). Then sprinkle with your crushed cashews and basil. Place your cantaloupe in a loop all around the edge of the pie and top with the mozzarella cheese. Finish with a very light drizzle of olive oil. Bake at 425° ( depending on how hot your oven is) for about 10 to 12 minutes. Keep an eye on the pie; you don’t want it to burn. And voila! This pizza is amazing as a wind down to summer and beautiful version of our everyday pie! Enjoy.
