White Chicken Leek Pizza on Sweet Potato Crust

Chicken, leeks, and herbed cream cheese on a tender sweet potato pizza crust.

Changing it up again--recipe first, words later, because I'd like to share below how I store some crops from the garden and the CSA farm share.  One long term storage crop is sweet potatoes.  I've made pizza crusts from (links to my other recipes) shredded butternut squash, roasted or shredded beets, steamed spinach and steamed kale.  Why not sweet potato?  Just like the addition of sweet potato to biscuits results in a tender crumb, adding it to pizza crust results in a tender, flavorful crust.  I made a triple batch of dough and will share have shared my creations throughout this fall--including 2 delicious FFF-a-boli rolled pizzas, one for vegetarians and one for omnivores--created using ingredients that will be leftover after Thanksgiving. Everything is up on the Visual Pizza Recipe Index.
First up, a white chicken leek pizza (with a fresh tomato pesto & fontina option for vegetarians, photo below), since I got both sweet potatoes and leeks in last week's CSA farm share.

Roasted Sweet Potato Pizza Dough (makes 1 crust)

4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) roasted sweet potato, skin removed

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 ounces (1/4 cup) lukewarm water

4 ounces (1 cup) whole wheat flour

4 1/4 ounces (1 cup) unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoons (1 ounce) olive oil

Dump the sweet potato, water, and yeast in a bowl (I use my stand mixer for this).  Let the yeast dissolve while you're getting out the other ingredients.  I'm weighing flours these days, using my cheap little kitchen scale bought at Bed Bath & Beyond with a coupon.  Simple and easy--no fluffing or sifting or measuring, just scoop until you like the number on the scale.  Add dry ingredients, and olive oil, and mix with a paddle on low for a few minutes, then spin it up to medium for a few minutes.  Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides, and mix again with the paddle until a dough ball forms.  Transfer to an oiled ziptop bag and chill for up to 3 days or freeze for a couple of months.

White Chicken Leek Pizza on Sweet Potato Crust

1 pound Sweet Potato Crust (see above, and as always my Pizza Primer is a handy guide)

about 1/3 cup herbed cream cheese (at room temp)

1/2 cup chopped leeks (white and pale green parts, thawed is OK)

1/2 to 1 cup shredded cooked chicken

1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese

freshly ground pepper and a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and if you've got a pizza stone, pop it in there to preheat as well.  On an oiled piece of parchment paper, stretch out the dough into a circle or square, your choice.  Using an offset spatula (Amazon link, but I got mine at Michael's craft store using a coupon) or the spreader of your choice, spread the cream cheese across the dough.  Top with chicken, leeks, and cheese.  Bake for 5 to 8 minutes on the parchment paper, then shimmy off the parchment and bake directly on a pizza stone, or cookie sheet, for another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is browned.
Cool on a rack, then slice (Amazon link for my favorite pizza wheel) and serve.

The transition to fall crops brings some relief from the 'use it or put it up--quick!' mentality of summer crops.  Sure, yesterday's beet greens were this morning's brunch (FB page photo), and one of the summer squash got finely shredded into supper, but I've also started up the SWSR2013 (FB page photo)--the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve, 2013 Edition.  The onions, potatoes, and pumpkin went straight over there, joining uneaten storage crops from earlier weeks.  Last winter I ate from the last--butternut--squash from the Reserve in late April!  If you have a cool, dry, dark corner of your home, please consider starting your own SWSR.

What are your plans for this weekend?

This post is shared on the From The Farm Blog Hop, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cookin' Wednesday, and What's In The Box.

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