Hear me out on this. I know some of you will be thinking, “How can you get a cheeseboard on a pizza?”. You also might be looking at the photo thinking, “Nope, definitely not for me”. Just trust me it’s worth reading on.
The minute we’ve got November in the rear view mirror and it’s December, it’s well and truly Christmas time in our household. In truth, the Christmas tree has probably been up at least a couple of weeks if my wife has had an opportunity. My focus turns to CHEESEBOARDS.
How do you even think of that?
Well, why not? There’s no rules on this page. If you have a mad thought, run with it and give it a try – what’s the worst that could happen? And why wouldn’t I try combining two of my favourite things, pizza and cheeseboards.
I can’t remember exactly when the thought occurred. But I do remember thinking at the time, I can’t forget about this, I need to write this down now.
The thought behind working from the inside-out in rings, rather than in quarters or whatever, was that even if someone only gets one slice, they’ve still sampled the whole ‘cheeseboard’.
The Cheeseboard
When I think of a cheeseboard at Christmas time, there are a few non-negotiables…
There has to be a blue, there has to be Wensleydale with cranberries, there has to be brie and there has to be a cheddar variety.
I’m a big fan of smoked cheese as well so I went for Applewood smoked cheddar cheese. For the blue, I went for a creamy, easy melting Gorgonzola.
On the outer ring, I decided the compliment the brie with some Fior di Latte mozzarella.
Lastly, there has to be grapes on the plate as well.
The Pizza
Dough
I’ve gone with my Beer Pizza Dough recipe for this one. It is the season to be merry after all right? Any excuse to fit it in anywhere.
Joking aside, my beer pizza dough recipe retains the flavour of the IPA beer even once cooked and this really compliments the many variants of cheese toppings on this pizza.
Sauce
Taking inspiration from a chutney you’d also expect to find on your cheeseboard, I’ve gone for caramelised onions on the outer two rings of the pizza, and simply a base of chopped San Marzano tomatoes on the inner two sections.
The Bake
Taking inspiration from a chutney you’d also expect to find on your cheeseboard, I’ve gone for caramelised onions on the outer two rings of the pizza, and simply a base of chopped San Marzano tomatoes on the inner two sections before topping with the cheeses.
I baked the pizza in my Igneus Woodfired oven at around 400°C and it took around a minute and a half to cook.
The pizza was then boxed, and garnished with a variety of grapes to serve.
The Verdict
It may be a surprise to some, but this pizza went down an absolute treat! Even my fussy-eater uncle tried a slice and conceded defeat, by admitting that he enjoyed it!
Feeling inspired at all? Give it a try with your own version and selection of cheeses and let me know how it turns out!
I certainly won’t be waiting another year for my next cheeseboard pizza!
Merry Christmas everyone!
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