Potato Pesto Pizza

Caution: lots of alliteration in today's post! That's right, it's Potato Pesto Pizza (with optional Prosciutto). This is one of my favorite weeknight staples because it takes very little time to make AND creates very few dishes to wash. Win-win, right? I first had pizza with potatoes on it several years ago at a restaurant in Oakland and have loved the delicious, carb-heavy combination ever since. The key to this recipe is slicing the potatoes very thinly so they get nice and crisp in the oven. And I know I've raved about my mom's pesto before, but seriously, if you can get homemade pesto for this it really makes all the difference.


Here's the list:


Pizza crust (I am lazy and just buy one at the grocery store but you could certainly make your own if you're that ambitious)
3 generous tablespoons pesto
1 1/2 to 2 cups grated cheese, mozzarella or monterey jack (depending on your personal preference)
1-2 small red potatoes, thinly sliced
About 1/3 cup diced prosciutto (optional, gotta cater to my vegetarian readers!)


Preheat your oven to 500 degrees...if it'll go that high! The higher the heat, the crispier your crust will be. First, stretch out the pizza crust in a well oiled baking pan. I use a 9 x 13 glass baking pan because that's what I have, but a baking sheet or pizza pan would work of course. Then spread the pesto on top, leaving an inch or so of plain dough around the edges for the crust.

Ohh yeah, lots of pesto

Next, sprinkle on the cheese. I didn't have any blocks of cheese so I just tore up some pre-sliced cheese...improvisation is my specialty! Layer the sliced potatoes on top of the cheese, and add prosciutto if you'd like. I highly recommend it, it just adds a little more crunch and saltiness, but the pizza is still darn good without it. Finally, add a dash of salt and pepper to top it off.

So, to recap:

Sliced potatoes +

Pesto +

Prosciutto =

Pizza, ready to go!

Bake the pizza for about 10 minutes until the crust and potatoes are golden and the cheese is bubbly. Let it cool for a few minutes and dig in!

And in case you need a little healthiness with your carb-on-carb dinner, check out these kale chips! Shout out to my friend Kelsey for introducing me to kale chips - they are so delicious AND healthy. Keep the oven on at 500 degrees after taking the pizza out. In another baking dish (you definitely want this one to have sides so the kale doesn't fall off), toss together a few handfuls of kale, about a tablespoon of olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Bake for 4-5 minutes until the kale gets slightly brown but not shriveled and burned.

Last but not least, here's your weekly Poppy, looking sassy as usual.