Chef Johns Watermelon Pizza Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S WATERMELON AGUA FRESCA

Steps:

• Scoop flesh from watermelon half and transfer watermelon to a blender. Add 2 cups cold water. Place a folded towel on blender lid and blend until liquefied, about 1 minute. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl to remove fibers. Discard fibers left in strainer. Skim and discard excess foam from juice if desired.
• Place sugar and 1/2 cup water into a saucepan over medium heat and stir until water is hot and sugar has dissolved. Turn off heat and let simple syrup cool to room temperature. Stir simple syrup into watermelon juice to taste.
• Pour drink into a 2-quart pitcher and refrigerate until cold, at least 30 minutes. To serve, fill tall glasses with ice cubes and pour agua fresca drink over ice. Serve with straws.

WATERMELON PIZZA

Steps:

• Grill watermelon, covered, on a greased grill rack over medium-high direct heat until seared, 5-6 minutes on each side. Remove from heat; transfer to a platter. Chill., To serve, top chilled watermelon with tomatoes, arugula, blueberries, feta and olives. Drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. If desired, drizzle with balsamic glaze.

CHEF JOHN'S POURABLE PIZZA

Steps:

• Place flour in mixing bowl with dry yeast, salt, honey, olive oil, and warm water. Whisk together for about 5 minutes. This will be a very thin batter-like dough. Cover and let rise 1 1/2 hours. Dough should be bubbly. Stir with a ladle to eliminate the bubbles.
• Generously oil a cast-iron skillet with olive oil off heat. Pour batter in a squeeze bottle or zip-top bag with a bottom corner snipped. Slowly pour the batter into the skillet starting from the center of the pan and working in circles toward the edge. Try to avoid mixing batter with the oil. If small bubbles of oil appear on the surface, use the tip of a paring knife to gently stir them into the dough.
• Place pan over medium-high heat. Wait for the dough to form bubbles over the entire top surface and the crust starts to dry out a bit. Flip over and continue cooking one side and the next. The bubbly side should be dry and achieve a golden brown color; the bottom should be well browned, about 4 to 5 minutes total per side. Doneness times will depend on how thickly the batter was poured. Remove from heat.
• Spread with pizza sauce and top with your favorite pizza toppings: mozzarella cheese, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, pepperoni, etc. Try to avoid topping too heavily.
• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Place pizza under broiler until toppings are cooked, 3 to 4 minutes.