Creamed Kale Pizza
Published Jan. 31, 2023

- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup heavy cream
- 3tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
- 1tablespoon lemon juice
- 1garlic clove, finely grated
- ¼teaspoon grated nutmeg (optional)
- A large pinch red-pepper flakes
- Salt
- 4packed cups coarsely chopped curly kale leaves (about 4 ounces, from ½ large bunch)
- 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
- 1cup grated fresh or low-moisture mozzarella (about 4 ounces)
- 1shallot, thinly sliced
- 1pound store-bought or homemade pizza dough, at room temperature
Preparation
- Step 1
Place a sheet pan on the oven’s lowest rack and heat the oven to 450 degrees. In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, stir together the heavy cream, Parmesan, lemon juice, garlic, nutmeg (if using), and red-pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, sprinkle the kale with the olive oil and a big pinch of salt; squeeze with your hands until wilted.
- Step 2
Place a kitchen towel on a work surface, then place an upside-down sheet pan or cutting board on the towel. (This will serve as your pizza peel; the towel stabilizes the setup as you roll the dough.) Line the upside-down sheet pan with parchment paper, lightly grease the parchment paper with olive oil and place the dough on top. Stretch or roll the dough on the parchment into a 9-by-13-inch rectangle. If the dough shrinks, let it rest a few minutes before continuing.
- Step 3
Sprinkle the mozzarella over the dough, then add the kale in an even layer. Spoon the heavy cream over the kale, then top with the shallots.
- Step 4
Remove the heated sheet pan from the oven and carefully slide the parchment with the dough onto the hot baking sheet. Cook until the cheese and the crust is golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes.
- Step 5
Use tongs to transfer the pizza to a cooling rack, leaving the parchment behind. Let sit for a few minutes to crisp and cool slightly before cutting and serving.
Private Notes
Comments
I have made a pizza similar to this. I think you can use labneh, creme fraiche, or ricotta in place of the heavy cream. Be careful of the kale burning. I have seen similar recipes that use baby kale. Like the other commenters, I use a pre-heated pizza stone (or steel) in a 500 + oven. Shaping your dough on parchment paper with the help of a little flour and dimple. Then brush with olive oil garlic, parm, and pepper. Put in oven and after it rises a bit, put the toppings on.
I made exactly as written, only adding lemon zest as well as juice. Absolutely loved the balance of creamy goo and cruciferous funk - it's very reminiscent of Smitten Kitchen's broccoli pizza, a recipe I've made infinity times. Next time I'll pre-bake the crust a few minutes before proceeding; the weighty toppings definitely delay its progress and you risk burning the kale. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing.
The upside-down sheet pan functions as the pizza peel. Not everyone owns a dedicated peel.
Outstanding! Loved it. A keeper. Used our go-to (Roberta's) Pizza Dough recipe, and skipped the sheet pan and rolling pin, just stretched and shaped the dough into 2 small pies and baked them directly on our pizza stone. Delicious, and a great way to use some of the gigantic bunch of curly kale we bought at our favorite farm stand.
Such a terrific recipe. Followed the directions closely and was so pleased with the result.
This is extremely delicious and tastes super fussy without BEING super fussy. It's nice to feel like you are in the big city enjoying a fancy pizza when you actually live in the middle of nowhere in flyover country.
