Author Notes
hello, friends! i had a super terrific pizza at 'house pizzeria' in austin the other day that inspired this one. all the ingredients in devils on horseback play out beautifully on a pizza: sweet dates, smoky bacon, wonderful local goat cheese, plus some arugula for fun. the dough in this recipe is taken from ina garten. of course, feel free to sub your preferred pizza dough, if you have one, but this is a quick dough that's easy to throw together for a weeknight dinner and results in a thin, pleasantly chewy crust. ok, bye! —arielleclementine
Ingredients
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1/2 cup
plus 2 tablespoons warm water
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1 packet
dry yeast
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1/2 tablespoon
honey
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1.5 tablespoons
good olive oil
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2 cups
all purpose flour, plus more for kneading
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1 teaspoon
kosher salt
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8 ounces
good, thick bacon, diced
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kosher salt and black pepper
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couple handfuls of arugula
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4 ounces
goat cheese, crumbled
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4-5
large medjool dates, pits removed, diced small
Directions
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Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
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Combine the water, yeast, honey and 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. When the yeast is dissolved, add 1.5 cups of flour, then 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and mix on medium-low speed. While mixing, add up to 1/2 more cup of flour, or just enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bowl.
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When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead it by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic.
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Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
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Meanwhile, put the diced bacon in a large skillet set over medium-low heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy. Remove the bacon to a paper towel to drain, but don't throw out that bacon fat! We're gonna use it later.
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Dump the dough onto a board and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Form into balls and place the doughs on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
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Press and stretch each ball into a rectangle and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (If you've chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature.)
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Use a pastry brush to brush the pizzas with some of that rendered bacon fat and sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and pepper. Strew a few handfuls of arugula on the pizzas, and then scatter the goat cheese, bacon, and diced dates on top. If you really want to live it up, you can put another little drizzle of bacon fat over the top of these ingredients (!).
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Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crusts are golden and crisp. Happy pizza time :)
I have always loved food. My favorite books as a kid always featured food (eg. The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies- so much candy!) and I loved cooking shows like Yan Can Cook and The Frugal Gourmet. I started cooking the Thanksgiving dinner for my family when I was 13 years old. I have food52 to thank for inspiring me to come up with my own recipes, as well as for introducing me to a community of fantastic cooks and their amazing recipes. I try my best to cook locally and seasonally, and I tend to prefer straightforward, simple recipes where the ingredients get to shine. I live in wonderful Austin, Texas with my husband, Andy (a video game programmer) and my son, Henry (an 8-month-old who loves to eat).
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