Pizza With Mushrooms, Mozzarella, and Truffle Recipe

Why It Works

Doubling the mushroom with cooked duxelles and sliced mushrooms means more mushroom flavor in every bite.

When I originally published an article about this recipe in the summer of 2015, the title—"Like Mushroom Pizza? We're Gonna Take You to Funghitown"—shamelessly cribbed a pun from the menu of Margot's Pizza, a now-shuttered pizzeria pop-up founded by former Serious Eats editor Adam Kuban. Why plagiarize? Partly because I don't feel bad about it (I suggested he call his mushroom pie the "Funghitown" in the first place), and partly because it also gives me the opportunity to blab about how awesome Margot's was (R.I.P.). It was awesome. I wish you all could go.

You know what wasn't awesome? The mushroom pizza I tried to eat growing up. I'm talking about the stuff from the NY slice shops, where you'd get a few pieces of canned or fresh mushroom on top of a slice of reheated pizza that barely saw enough time in the oven to take the mushrooms beyond the slimy-but-edible stage. I hated mushroom pizza as a kid, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

But that was then, and things have changed. I've been taken on a one-way trip to Funghitown, and now that I'm here, I can only look at my past self in pity and hope that I never become that person again.

Ingredients for the pizza: sliced button mushrooms, a ramekin of duxelles, and a mound of fresh mozzarella chunks. — Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Layering on straight mushrooms is all well and good, and I like the just-singed-by-the-flame mushroom flavor that fresh mushrooms will get you, but if you really want to get funghi with it, I suggest using a combination of fresh and cooked mushrooms to get both that fresh sweet flavor and the richer umami notes.

Sautéed mushrooms work, but a duxelles—a rough, seasoned purée of cooked mushrooms that's part of the classic French canon—works even better. I start by pulsing a mixture of button, shiitake, and portobello mushrooms in the food processor until they're finely minced, then I sauté them in olive oil until browned.

Once they're ready, I hit them with some shallots and thyme for flavor, along with a big slug of brandy to moisten them up and bring some class to the affair.

The duxelles acts essentially as a sauce for the pizza, so extra tomato sauce would be superfluous, not to mention a distraction from the mushroom flavor. I dollop the duxelles onto my stretched Neapolitan-style pizza dough, scatter it with drained fresh mozzarella, cover the whole thing with a blanket of sliced mushrooms and more fresh thyme and garlic, drizzle it with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt, then park it in a preheated pizza oven. (A regular oven fitted with a baking steel or a grill with a KettlePizza insert will also work.)

Overhead view of the finished mushroom pizza sliced into quarters on a cutting board, sporting a charred crust. — Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

A few minutes to bake, and you've just printed yourself a one-way ticket.

Got some good-quality truffle oil lying around? Go ahead and drizzle it on there. But only if it's the good stuff!

Won't you take me to...

July 2015

Pizza With Mushrooms, Mozzarella, and Truffle Recipe

Active 60 mins

Total 4 hrs

Serves 4 to 6 servings

1 recipe Neapolitan pizza dough or 2 pounds store-bought pizza dough
1 pound mushrooms (button, cremini, shiitake, portobello, or a mix), cleaned and trimmed
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divide
1 medium shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons freshly minced thyme leaves, plus 1 tablespoon picked whole thyme leaves
1/4 cup cognac or other brandy or barrel-aged spirit, such as bourbon
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 pound fresh mozzarella, torn into rough chunks and drained
Truffle oil, for drizzling (optional)

Divide dough into 4 equal parts and place each in a covered quart-sized deli container or in a zipper-lock freezer bag. Allow to rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours before baking. Meanwhile, make mushroom mixture.
Place a large plate in the freezer. Place half the mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped, about 10 short pulses, scraping down sides and redistributing mushrooms with a spatula as necessary. Transfer to a bowl. Thinly slice remaining mushrooms and set aside until assembling pizzas.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have exuded all their liquid and start to sizzle, about 8 minutes. Continue cooking until mushrooms begin to brown and leave browned bits stuck to bottom of pan, about 4 minutes longer. Add shallot and minced thyme and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 2 minutes.
Add cognac or brandy. Scrape bottom of skillet with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to release browned bits. Continue to cook until brandy is nearly dry, about 4 minutes. Add soy sauce and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer mixture to the chilled plate. Spread into a thin, even layer and refrigerate until fully cooled, about 10 minutes.
Adjust oven rack to 6 inches under broiler and place stone or steel on rack. Preheat oven to highest possible temperature (500 to 550°F or 260 to 290°C) for at least 45 minutes. Alternatively, use a KettlePizza and Baking Steel grill insert on an outdoor grill.
When ready to bake, turn one dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press out dough into a rough 8-inch circle, leaving the outer 1 inch higher than the center. Gently stretch dough into a 10- to 12-inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick, by draping over knuckles and gently stretching. Transfer to floured wooden pizza peel.
Preheat broiler to high. Dollop 1/4 of mushroom mixture over the surface of the pizza, followed by 1/4 of mozzarella pieces. Scatter 1/4 of sliced mushrooms over pizza and scatter with 1/4 of whole thyme leaves and 1/4 of sliced garlic. Season with salt and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Transfer pizza to hot stone or steel and broil, rotating regularly for even cooking, until edges are puffed and lightly charred and bottom is crisp, 3 to 6 minutes total. Retrieve pizza with a metal peel and transfer to a cutting board. Allow to rest 1 minute. Meanwhile, switch oven back to 550°F to reheat stone for remaining pizzas.
Drizzle with truffle oil (if using) and serve immediately.
Repeat steps 6 through 9 with remaining pizzas.

Special Equipment

Food processor, wood and metal pizza peels, pizza cutter, Baking Steel (see note)

Notes

For best results, bake pizza using a KettlePizza and Baking Steel setup.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
723	Calories
35g	Fat
76g	Carbs
25g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	723
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 35g	45%
Saturated Fat 11g	53%
Cholesterol 48mg	16%
Sodium 1184mg	51%
Total Carbohydrate 76g	28%
Dietary Fiber 5g	17%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 25g
Vitamin C 6mg	29%
Calcium 341mg	26%
Iron 6mg	33%
Potassium 458mg	10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Ingredients

Special Equipment

Notes

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