Sweet Potato Pizza

Remember in the last post when I was talking about how I love Spring and Fall because I love change? This is true, but it's also sort of not true. Change can be exciting; I love the first warm day in the Spring, the way the sun feels on my skin when it first gets really hot in the Summer, the first Snow, and that first crisp breeze in early October that reminds me of my birthday and color. On those days, I love how people are all, at the same time, in a generally good mood. It's something different, and we're all in it together.

Yes, change is good. Change is also really, really scary sometimes. It's necessary for growth and all that, but when you're in the midst of it, it can feel all at once exciting, invigorating, terrifying, and overwhelming. It's exhausting!

So I registered for my very last graduate class. In a couple of months I am going to be teaching in a real live classroom in which I am the only adult. I'll finally have my Masters degree finished and will be doing what I've been wanting to do, but for two years I've done something that I love and that I'm good at, and now I have to go to the next step. I have to change.

I'm in the midst of it.

You know what's good when you're feeling in the midst of change? Pizza. Pizza changes all the time, and yet, it's always pizza. It's constant, and it's not. I feel kind of like this, right now.

Let's make pizza! And put some potatoes on it! Embrace change!

Take one medium sweet potato and peel it. Then, using a very sharp knife or a mandolin if you have one (lucky!) slice the sweet potato in very, very thin slices. The potato is going to cook while it's on the pizza, which means they need to be super thin so they can be fully cooked in the 20 or so minutes it takes the pizza to cook.

Grab some dough and stretch it across a well oiled baking sheet. I bought mine in the deli section of my grocery store, but you could make your own, too. If you do buy the pre-made stuff, let it come to room temperature for a bit before you stretch it. I've found it makes it easier to handle.

Now, for this step you could simply drizzle a bit of olive oil on the dough and then start constructing your pizza. But I found something called Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce and it was calling to me. I found it at a little neighborhood market in Beacon Hill, but I know they sell Stonewall Kitchen products all over. Like right here!

Anyway, I spread about 1/4 a cup of the sauce over the pizza and topped with some of the sliced sweet potatoes. I arranged them in a pattern of sorts to make it pretty, but you can do this any which way your heart desires.

Next, grate about 1/2 cup of Gruyere cheese. This cheese is the stuff dreams are made of, by the way. Top the potatoes with the Gruyere cheese and a little bit of Parmesan. Throw some fresh rosemary on top, too.

Season with salt and pepper, and into the oven it goes. It bakes for about 20 minutes in a very hot oven until the crust is brown and the cheese is bubbly. Be sure to check the potatoes, too. They should be fork tender, but not mushy.

This smells amazing, by the way. It's earthy and sweet and crunchy. The potatoes are firm but still fully cooked, and the cheese! Oh, the cheese.

Slice the pizza into your desired serving size, which for me, was 6 pieces. You could go smaller, especially if you want to serve this as an appetizer or small-bite. I wanted dinner, and I wanted it immediately.

This pizza was delicious. The crust, which baked to a crunchy exterior/tender interior perfection, was the perfect vehicle for these interesting flavors. I really enjoyed the combination of the earthy rosemary and the sweet sauce. The potatoes added a wonderful, and unexpected, texture which was kept together by the sharp Gruyere cheese.

It's not your every day, run of the mill, pizza. But, like I said, it's still pizza, and pizza is always good. It's change and comfort in one bite, and during this time in my life, that's something I can embrace.

Here's the recipe!