11 Ideas for Pizza Toppings

Use the following ingredients alone or in combination on any of the pizzas in this section.

1. Small amounts of Gorgonzola or other blue cheese, or fontina or other semisoft cheese; gratings of Parmesan are almost always welcome, as are dollops of ricotta
2. Mashed Roasted Garlic (page 205)
3. Minced fresh chiles (like jalapeño or Thai) or red chile flakes or cayenne to taste
4. Pitted black olives, especially the oil-cured kind (good on White Pizza with Balsamic Caramelized Onions, page 222), or green olives
5. Reconstituted dried tomatoes (or Oven-Dried Tomatoes, page 261)
6. Well-washed and dried tender greens, especially spicy ones like arugula and watercress, added after baking or grilling; they will wilt from the heat from the crust in about 1 minute.
7. Sautéed spinach, strewn around in a thin layer
8. Marinated roasted red peppers (page 228)
9. Grilled or Broiled Eggplant (page 201) or the pan-cooked eggplant slices from Eggplant Parmesan (page 202)
10. Slices of grilled zucchini (see page 167)
11. Farm-fresh eggs. Make a breakfast pizza with coddled eggs: After the pizza has baked for about 5 minutes (or after you have turned it, if you are grilling the pizza), break eggs on top of the crust (no more than 4 on a large crust or 2 on a smaller crust), spacing them nicely. Return to the oven and bake until the whites are opaque, the yolks are still runny, and the crust is crisp, about another 5 minutes.