Cream Cheese Pistachio Truffles & Chioggia Beet Chips
Olive & fig tapenade (dried Turkish figs, kalamata olives, dried apricots, capers, tangerine-fig balsamic vinegar, fresh rosemary, olive oil), cream cheese pistachio truffles (with roasted garlic, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, fresh basil, fresh oregano, feta, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, crushed red pepper, pistachios), pink chioggia beet chips
Recipe
Ingredients: 1 ball of pizza dough olive oil flour for dusting salt & pepper 2-3 Chioggia beets, very thinly sliced (use a mandoline if you have one) vegetable or canola oil for frying
For the tapenade: 1 cup dried Turkish figs, stems removed 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives ¼ cup dried apricots 2 tablespoons capers 2 tablespoons sweet balsamic vinegar (we used tangerine-fig balsamic, but any other sweet or fruity variety will do) 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the truffles: 1 whole head of garlic (you’ll only end up needing 6 cloves of it after it’s roasted, so you don’t have to use the whole thing if you don’t want to), the top ¼-inch cut off to expose tops of cloves within, flaky outer layer removed 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt 3 tablespoons fresh basil 1 tablespoon fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried) 6 ounces feta cheese 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, plus 1 tablespoon of the oil they’re packed in 1/3 cup Kalamata olives 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 1/2 cups pistachios, roughly chopped
Directions: Preheat your oven to 400° F. Drizzle the cut side of the garlic head with olive oil, and wrap the whole thing in aluminum foil. Roast it in a baking dish until golden brown and soft, about 30 minutes. Wait for it to cool, and then squeeze out your 6 cloves into a small bowl and mash them with a fork. Increase the oven temperature to 550° F.
Next you can start making your cream cheese mixture for the truffles. Add the cream cheese, Greek yogurt and roasted garlic to a food processor and puree until smooth and creamy. Next add the basil and oregano and pulse until well combined.
Now add the feta, sun dried tomatoes (plus oil), olives & black pepper, and pulse until it is combined but still slightly chunky—you don’t want it to be completely smooth. Scoop the mixture into a bowl and let it chill in the fridge until you’re ready to use it (ideally at least an hour).
While the cheese mixture is chilling, clean out your food processor and get ready to make the tapenade. This part is incredibly simple—just add all the ingredients except the oil to the food processor and pulse until it is fully blended but still coarse. Then drizzle in the olive oil and pulse one or two more times so that it’s fully combined.
Now it’s time to start making the beet chips. Fill a small saucepan with about 3 inches of your frying oil and heat it to around 350° F. If you don’t have a thermometer, that’s okay—just adjust the heat as you go so that your chips fry but don’t burn.
Add the beet slices in batches, and fry them for about 2 minutes, or until they are crispy, turning them over frequently so that they fry evenly. They will float to the top and begin to curl around the edges. Take them out as they start to turn golden, and drain them on a paper towel. Sprinkle them with sea salt before they dry, so that it sticks.
When your oven is hot, you can start preparing the dough, using the directions on the right. After you’ve baked it for a minute, take it out and brush it lightly with olive oil. Next, spread the tapenade evenly over the whole pizza.
Stir together the chopped pistachios and crushed red pepper in a small bowl. If the cream cheese mixture has cooled enough, take it out of the fridge and start to form it into little balls, about half the size of a golf ball. Roll the balls in the pistachio mixture and place them on the pizza, on top of the tapenade.
Pop your pizza in the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, and the pistachio balls have begin to brown on top. Then take it out and add your crispy beet chips, and voilà!
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