Allyson Gofton - Provolone and artichoke pizza

Publish Date
Friday, 21 April 2017, 1:46PM
Author
By Allyson Gofton

Provolone an Italian semi-hard, cow's whole milk cheese that like mozzarella is a pulled or stretched curd cheese, is often over-looked for its chic cousin, mozzarella. It is quite different from mozzarella, and is worth finding and using for Italian cooking where it imparts a great flavour.

Provolone has a lower moisture content giving Provolone a longer shelf-life than Mozzarella and the Provolone holds up better as a slicing and shredding cheese. With the lower moisture level it will also keep longer, thus ageing.

While Provolone’s original shape was round, today it can be purchased in a salami-like shape, or like a small melon with a spherical knob on top. Provolone can be distinguished by the red and white string or rope that it is tied with for ageing as the cheese being too soft to sit to age.

When young the cheese is sweet and works best with other delicate flavours. This pizza is a delicious and if you cannot find provolone, you can always use mozzarella.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1½ tsp dried yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ¾ cup warm water
  • 1½ cups high-grade flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tblsp olive oil
  • olive oil for brushing
  • ½ sliced red onion
  • 1 tblsp fresh rosemary sprigs
  • 250 grams provolone dolce cheese or mozzarella
  • ½ cup roasted artichokes

Method

  1. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes until light and frothy.
  2. Put flour and salt in a food processor with olive oil and yeast mixture and mix to a soft dough (2-3 minutes). Cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in bulk.
  3. Gently deflate and cut into 4 pieces; roll each into 15cm rounds. Place on a greased oven tray. Brush dough lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with red onion and rosemary.
  4. Slice provolone dolce and roasted artichokes and divide between pizza breads.
  5. Cook at 200ºC for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Cooks Tips

Buying: Source provolone from good specialty cheese stores such as Sabato. Storing: Wrap in a cloth, cover loosely in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Always bring to room temperature before serving. Preparing: Slice or grate before using. Cooking: Provolone melts easily. Use it on pizzas, wrapped in chicken schnitzels with ham, as a topping on baked white fish fillets in a tomato sauce, or layered in gratins or vegetables bakes.

Find more delicious recipes by Allyson here.

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