Peking Chicken Pizza...

I can't believe it is Friday again... this year is just flying by at record speed it seems! Being Friday already, that means it is pizza night here!

As usual, I started this Peking Chicken Pizza I made tonight by whirling together our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough in the trusty food processor. Once the yeast had enough time do bubble up the dough, we easily stretched it into a large rough circle - don't worry about it being perfectly round... just call it rustic! Along the edge of the dough, I laid a track of sesame seeds about 1" wide - while you could lace the edge with an egg wash or even melted butter first, I didn't find I needed any glue as they stuck pretty well. The recipe did call for using two to three tablespoons worth of the seeds - I found that two was even a bit much for just coating the edge, so I went ahead and sprinkled the remaining seeds all over the dough.

Instead of a tomato-y sauce, this pizza is covered in a combination of your favorite barbecue sauce and an ingredient I've never used... plum sauce! This sauce is sweet and somewhat sour - it is usually made from plums (surprise!), but can also include peaches or apricots. On top of the sauce, we arranged thin slices of cooked chicken breast that we first seasoned simply with salt and fresh ground black pepper. The recipe called for the chicken to be placed on top of the lavish layer cheese, but I didn't want to expose them directly to the heat and dry them out. So, instead, I just hid them underneath.

Back to that layer of cheese - we used Monterey Jack which brought a smooth and mild finish to the top of this pizza. For a bit of freshness, we finished this off by sprinkling a mixture of chopped sweet red and orange bell pepper, along with a few thin pieces of scallion. Since the raw sesame seed ring on the crust was mostly exposed, those tiny seeds were able to toast, intensifing their flavor, as they were exposed to the heat. I don't know what is was about the combination of barbecue and that tangy plum sauce, but the duo danced around on top of the crust and married to create a delicious burnished glaze that was the highlight of this casual pizza.

Recipes

Peking Chicken Pizza