Week #5: California - Cobb Salad Pizza

On Naan Bread

On Udi's Gluten-Free Crust

State:  California

I have never been to the West Coast as of yet.  I know that there are many different cultures that have influenced cooking in the great state.  For me, I was trying to think of a staple food that comes from California and the Cobb salad came to mind.  The cobb salad is a healthy version to a pizza and  I haven’t ever seen a Cobb pizza before.  One of my friends did a BLT pizza before, so he inspired me to do this verison for California. 

Ingredients Needed:  For 1 Pizza

2-3 Hard boiled eggs – cut in long quarters

1 cup of coarsely chopped romaine lettuce

2 medium tomatoes chopped

½ avocado chopped

1 cup cooked and diced chicken meat

3 strips of cooked bacon - crumbled

½ cup of Blue Cheese

For the Dressing:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (Did not use due to soy allergy)

1 small clove garlic – minced or 1 tsp of garlic powder

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Whisk all ingredients together to make the dressing. 

Base:

For the base of the pizza, I used enough of the dressing to coat the bottom of the pizza.  The remainder of the dressing will be slightly drizzled over the top when finished.   

Meat:

Chicken – For this recipe, I used rotisserie chicken and cut into little pieces to put on top of the base.  Spread out along your pizza so you will have room for other ingredients.

Bacon – Spread out the crumbles on top of the base

Pizza:

For the pizza crust, I used Naan bread and a gluten-free pizza crust from Udi’s.   After putting the base on and applying the meats, I added on the cheese.  Cook at 410 degrees (depending on oven) and cook for 8-10 minutes, just until the crust gets brown around the edges.  Take out of oven and then apply the rest of the ingredients.  Evenly distribute the tomatoes, eggs, and lettuce.  Then drizzle the dressing over the top of the pizza. 

Pairing: 

This is by far one of the best states in America for pairing either a wine or craft beer with a pizza. For wine, I would recommend something lighter to balance of the high-acidic salad ingredients.  You can choose a Californian wine such as a Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, or Chardonnay.  For craft beer, you have excellent selections in California.  Great breweries like Mission, Green Flash, Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, Ballast Point, Anderson Valley, and many more.  For this pizza, I would chose a lighter craft beer such as a Pale, Blonde, Saison, Session, Belgian, Heifewezen or Amber style ale.  I decided to go with the Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo, just because I like it hoppy!!   

Learning Moments:

This pizza was very tasty and I didn't feel guilty about eating it.  I actually overate on this pizza because it tasted so good.  I would say that this is one of the first pizza’s that helped me think differently about the toppings or styles of pizza to make.  This was a very good pizza and I would recommend it for you.  Cheers and Buen provecho!!