Recipe: Corned Beef and Cabbage Pizza

Hidden away in what seemed to be an endless pile of inserts to my Sunday newspaper, I found "A Slice of Heaven", Parade's look at pizza in America. (www.parade.com/pizza)

"The United States of Pizza, Why we all love a good pie" by Jane and Michael Stern provides the reader with an informative historical glance at one of the nation's favorite foods. However, it falls exceedingly short on answering "Why...as the subtitle implies. I found their recommended list of pizza offering restaurants from coast to coast (and all points in between) to be useful and tucked it away for future reference. The recipe for Margherita pizza was a nice tie-in to the history of the pie. "Pie Personality" by Scott Wiener, a pizza tour leader from New York City, claims that "the way you get that slice from plate to tummy can say a mouthful." Pizza tour. Really? Only in New York City!

Hungering for more, I did not find 'Parade's pizza" to be very satisfying! So... with a fondness for pizza, inspiration from a fellow blogger (www.penniesonaplatter.com) and St.Patrick's Day only hours away, I tossed together a recipe that put aside tradition (bangers, corned beef and cabbage) for a more creative dish - Corned Beef and Cabbage Pizza.

Me grandfather (McComsey) would be proud!                                          



Ingredients:
1- package of your favorite commercial brand pizza crusts **
4C. cabbage - sliced

Olive oil - (EVOO)

1 Medium potato- thinly sliced
1 - Large ball of fresh mozzarella cheese - sliced using an egg slicer
1/2 C. Colby Jack cheese - shredded
12 oz. Corned Beef  pre-cooked and sliced
1 - 2 teaspoon Pecorino Romano cheese
White pepper - to taste

Directions:

(1) Place a large pizza stone in the oven and pre-heat it at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes.

(2) In a large saute pan caramelize the cabbage in EVOO, seasoning with white pepper. Set aside. Place potatoes onto a baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO and roast them for 7-10 minutes until light brown BUT not crisp. Set aside.

(3) Assemble pie. Place pie crust onto a pizza tray or pizza board. Arrange 5-6 slices of mozzarella around  the crust in a circular motion. Add 1/2 Colby Jack, saving remainder for top of pie. Next add the Corned Beef. Place sliced potatoes on top of meat and finish with the cabbage. Top the pie with remainder of mozzarella and Colby cheeses.

(4) Transfer the pizza onto the heated stone and bake for 12 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with Pecorino Romano cheese and serve.

**NOTE: For this recipe we opted to make our own pizza dough.