Zucchini, Corn, and Leek Pizza with Pesto and Feta (Pizza Night!)

The flavors of a summer vegetarian pizza: shredded zucchini sautéed with leeks and corn then topped with feta cheese on a roasted garlic oil-brushed pizza crust. 

Pizza in the summer should be easy.  Not that pizza in the winter should be complicated or anything, but there's something about the bounty of ripe produce coupled with spending more time outdoors doing yard work that lends itself to easy meals.  With such delicious stuff coming in the the farm share box the pizzas practically make themselves (let's be honest, I'm doing the work here) the idea of what veggies to combine in a pizza practically falls into your lap.  At least that's what happened with this pizza.  Sometimes, the ingredients choose you (Meghan is so wise).

Note:  I made this pizza in January.  It's true!  I'd love to show you a photo with the pizza and the 3 inches of snow that fell in the morning, but in fact it was wicked cold and dark so I have no 'outdoor' natural light photos.

Over the winter, while rooting around in the freezer for something else, a bag of shredded zucchini, a bag of corn kernels, and a bag of chopped leeks fell into my lap.  How did I make a pizza using zucchini and corn in the midst of winter?  Easy!  When I am overwhelmed with my crazy garden volunteers, or we get more than my family can eat in the week's CSA farm share box, I put it up.  The zucchini was shredded (love the fine shred disc on my food processor, the smaller and cheaper version of this one) then bagged, and frozen.  The corn was cooked in a cooler, cut off the cobs, frozen on a tray, and bagged.  The leeks were sliced, washed a lot, spun dry, and frozen loose on a tray before bagging.  That way, we can enjoy summer flavors all year long.  And this taste of summer was delicious after shoveling snow!

When I made this pizza, I knew that I eventually wanted to try leeks with corn on a pizza as well.  When I got leeks in my farm share I even did a little happy dance.  Tonight's pizza is very summery in nearly all respects--it's loaded with ripe-in-summer produce, tossed with pesto, flavored with a hint of garlic . . . but I think I may have used an eggnogandbutternutsquash crust.  So here's today's lesson, folks!  Always Label Random Bags of Pizza Crust In Your Freezer.  The crust tasted just fine with the toppings.  In fact, it may have been just a plain butternut squash pizza crust (is that an oxymoron?).  I'll never know, because I didn't label the bag!

If this pizza looks delicious enough for you to want to make it now, not wait until January, just make sure to squeeze the shredded zucchini until it's as dry as you can get it.  If you don't have leeks, substitute onions, shallots, or even green onions--but add them to the skillet at the very end because they burn easily.  At least in my skillets.  Now that my garden is growing some of these ingredients, I'm already planning my next "summer pizza" though this time I will know what dough to use.

I'm missing the olive oil, pesto, and cheeses in this photo.  Yes, I labelled the zucchini "More Squashzilla".

Zucchini, Corn, and Leek Pizza with Pesto and Feta Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 pound pizza dough (heck, probably any kind would work here!)
• 1 clove roasted garlic
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, warmed
• 1/2 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed dry
• 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
• 1/2 cup chopped leeks
• kosher salt, a pinch
• 2 Tablespoons prepared pesto
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup Trader Joes Quatro Formaggio or shredded Italian blend cheese
• Pasta Sprinkle or Italian spice blend

Instructions

1. For general pizza making hints, tips, and suggestions, refer to my Pizza Primer here.
2. Preheat the oven, containing your pizza stone if you have one, to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.    
3. On an oiled piece of parchment, stretch out dough into the shape your family spouse currently favors.  Set aside. 
4. In a small dish, smash the garlic with the olive oil, set aside.  
5. Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat, add a teaspoon of oil and sauté the zucchini 3-5 minutes until it's softened.  Add in the leeks and corn, and sauté another 3-5 minutes until the veggies get a hint of brown on the edges.  Sprinkle with kosher salt.  Remove from heat and plop pesto into the skillet, stir to combine, and set aside.
6. Brush the roasted garlic oil over the crust.  Spread the pesto veggies over top.  Scatter feta crumbles even over veggies.  Top with shredded cheese and a shake of Pasta Sprinkle.  Bake on parchment for 5-8 minutes, then shake the crust directly onto a stone, or cookie sheet, for another 3-5 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbly.  Cool a few minutes on a rack, slice and serve.

This pizza is playing with the farmers at the From the Farm Blog Hop, What I am Eating, the Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Mostly Homemade Mondays, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cookin' Wednesday, the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, and What's In The Box.

Yeah, I was a little too liberal with the 'oiled piece of parchment'.  It wipes up easily before baking.