Broccoli Rabe, Mushroom, Roasted Garlic Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella and Fresh Tomato Sauce (Pizza Night!)

I hate to waste edible food.  When I get greens from the farm share, I prefer to use the entire stem.  You will rarely find me using a recipe that calls for, say, discarding Swiss chard stems.  But when I read in the farm share newsletter that the stems of broccoli rabe (adorable how spell checker changes this to 'broccoli rage') could be used like asparagus, I decided to use the rest (leaves and florets) in a pizza.  With mushrooms, because I think they have that whole 'earthy' thing going on together.

As usual, I couldn't decide between sauces for the base.  So this recipe uses an amazing tomato pesto sauce recipe I got from Heather at In Her Chucks.  The sauce is so light and fresh that I kept the toppings simple and it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

Oh, and what did I do with the stems of the broccoli rabe?  I chopped them up, nuked them, and added them to tuna casserole.  I do not recommend doing that.  While they tasted fine, it ruined the familiar homey comforting that you expect from tuna casserole.  Luckily my son ate all the leftovers.

Other stuff going on in this picture-but that's my fresh tomato pesto in the bowl.

Again, other stuff-this pizza has no meat or ricotta.  Gee, I wonder what the next broccoli rabe pizza will be?

My mozzarella is too close to the edge!  Pull back!

Broccoli Rabe, Mushroom, Roasted Garlic Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella and Fresh Tomato Sauce

3 mushrooms (ordinary button is fine), finely chopped
1 clove roasted garlic (see how I put up mine, here)
1 bunch broccoli rabe, stems set aside, leaves and florets chopped
1 pound pizza dough (see my Pizza Primer here)
1/2 cup fresh tomato pesto sauce (see how I make and put up my fresh tomato pesto here)
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle (or other Italian seasoning blend)
Lawry's Seasoned salt (or other seasoned salt)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add a small amount of oil to the skillet.  sauté the mushrooms 5-8 minutes until softened.  Add garlic, stir.  Add greens and 1 teaspoon water.  Cover and cook 3 minutes until greens are wilted.  Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated.  This made enough for 2 smaller pizzas.

On an oiled piece of parchment paper, stretch out dough into an approximate circle.  Spread the fresh tomato pesto over the dough.  Scatter half of the greens/mushroom mixture over the sauce.  Add slices of fresh mozzarella over dough, keeping them in from the edges as the cheese spreads.  A lot.  Add  fontina, Italian seasoning, and a tiny bit of seasoned salt over the entire pie.

Bake on parchment (on a baking stone or a cookie sheet) for 5-8 minutes.  Shake the pizza off the parchment, and continue to bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.  Cool on a wire rack then slice and serve.  This post is linked with the Fresh Foods Wednesday Link Up and What's In The Box!