Get ready for a pizza party in your mouth! This Kale Pesto and Burrata Pizza is packed with flavor and perfect for a tasty pizza dinner. A crispy crust is topped with homemade kale pesto, creamy burrata cheese, lemon zest, and grated Parmesan. Let’s get cooking!
Preparing the Kale Pesto
Before starting you will need the following.
Ingredients & Equipment
- Kale: You need 2 to 3 cups of kale leaves without the stems. You might need to adjust depending on your preferences and the number of pizzas you are making.
- Basil Leaves: 2 or 3 leaves to add minty flavor.
- Garlic Clove: 1 clove, may adjust based on preference.
- Lemon Zest: depending on your preferences.
- Pine Nuts: depending on your preferences.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: as needed to reach desired consistency.
- Food Processor.
Preparation
- The first step is to add the kale and basil to a food processor along with the pine nuts and garlic if you plan to use these.
- Next, simply use the pulse control on the food processor to roughly chop the kale and let the ingredients settle. Usually, 2 or 3 pulses.
- Now, while using the same pulse control slowly pour olive oil into the opening at the top of the food processor. Continue to pulse and add EVOO until you have a paste-like consistency. You may fine-tune the consistency to your desired taste. But be careful with having it too liquid as it will be hard to apply to the pizza base.
- Finally, incorporate some lemon zest and add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes on Kale Pesto
- If you have leftover pesto, make sure to store it in an airtight container and use it soon after preparation. A great use of this pesto is with a tuna and avocado sandwich! Make sure to try it if you can.
The Making of the Pizza
There are certain tips you should read to successfully execute a good pizza in your home oven. Our guide to cooking pizza in a home oven can help you have the right setup to achieve the best kale pesto pizza. Make sure to give it a skim prior to trying this recipe.
Additional Ingredients and Equipment
In addition to the Kale Pesto ingredients, you will need the following to make the pizza.
Ingredients
- Burrata
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Pizza Dough: we recommend trying our dough recipes – Easy homemade pizza dough.
Equipment
- Pizza Stone – for baking a crispy crust.
- Pizza Peel – for positioning the pizza in the oven.
- Pizza Cutter
Executing the Pizza at Home
Pre-heating the Oven
- When you have all your ingredients and dough ready to roll it’s time to preheat the oven and your pizza stone. Get ready to do this a bit in advance as having a high-heat oven will be crucial. I usually pre-heat oven and stone to 550F for about 45-55mins prior to baking the first pizza.
- When you have about 10 mins of the pre-heat session remaining, you want to turn on the broil in the oven for the remaining time. Always use safety and be cautious when using high temperatures. At this point, once you have started the broiling time, you want to start assembling your first pizza.
The Baking Process
- The baking process is divided into 2 parts to make sure the crust is nice and crispy while the toppings are not burnt.
- Part 1: The first bake will only include the dough and the pesto sauce. Go ahead and turn off the broil and return you oven setting to 550F. Then place the pizza base with sauce only on your pre-heated pizza stone. Let bake until you start noticing some browning or goldening of the crust. About 2 to 3 minutes.
- Part 2: The second half of the bake is about the toppings. At this point, you have the crust 85% done. To cook the toppings carefully and using a pizza peel, remove the crust from the stone set in a cutting board or similar surface (close the oven to retain the heat) while you add the burrata and other toppings you desire. Place the pizza again in the hot stone for about 1 to 2 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Finally, once baked to your desired level of perfection remove the pizza from the oven, make sure to close the oven behind you, and finish off with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest, and grated parmesan or pecorino cheese.
This delicious recipe is a fun way to change your traditional pizza night and share with friends.
Enjoy!
