Chicken Pizza with Strawberry Salsa and Garlic Scape Pesto

Strawberry salsa-tossed chicken layered with cheeses on a garlic scape pesto-sauced pizza crust. A pizza recipe straight out of my edible back yard (exceptions chicken, peppers, and cheese).

I was thinking about starting a "What is Edible in the Yard This Week" sidebar column, but then I looked around the yard and realized that the chickweed growing up between the bricks on the patio is about it. [FYI, chickweed tastes bright and lemony, if you're wondering, and Robert Barker snacked on it for me. But he snacks on everything.]

Sure, the garlic is growing well, the raspberry canes have leafed out, and the peach tree bloomed beautifully. Burgeoning piles of mint, rosemary, and thyme are spreading out in the sun. The sugar snap peas, chard, strawberries, and parsley have begun to grow. I've even spotted volunteer pumpkins [or mutant squash] and cilantro sprouting their first true leaves.

Despite the lack of current edible items in our garden, the pizza I'm sharing today shows how I put up food when it's ripe and then eat it year round. Strawberry salsa and garlic scape pesto came right from my little back yard, and I open jars/thaw cubes when I want some Spring flavors. With a stove and a freezer [and a food processor or blender is nice as well--and power too, since I'm blogging from the library because a transformer blew and our power is out] eating pizza like this is well within reach for you, too.

Seeing an albino squirrel in the back yard [photo by my lightning-reflexed spouse] I'm feeling the absence of the composting pigs this Spring. After nearly 5 years with them, my spouse finds himself plucking dandelions before he remembers there are no pigs to wheek their pleasure at the treat.

PSA:  If you're in the market for another family member, consider rescuing a pair of guinea pigs. Keep their large cage in a common area [ours lived in a corner of the living room atop the dog crate] and these social creatures will not only brighten your day and let you know when it's dinner time, they'll eat up any unwanted Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share produce. [Thus I termed them the 'composting pigs', as guinea pig poop is perfectly fine for your compost bin.] I'm glad of my worm bin to take up the slack, but the worms aren't very interactive. Not like our beloved pigs. [Will we get more? Not at this time. For me, 3 dogs are plenty of animals to care for.]

For other recipes using garlic scapes or garlic scape pesto, please see my Garlic/ Garlic Scape Recipes Collection. For other recipes using strawberries, please see my Strawberry Recipes Collection. These are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. I even have a Visual Pizza Recipe Index, because I have a thing for indices.
I've pinned more garlic scape recipes to my Garlic Scapes Pinterest board and more pizzas to my Friday Night Pizza Night Pinterest board. Wanna know how to Use This Blog? Click here.

Are ya unsure about making pizza at home?  I've written a few posts all about how I make pizza in my kitchen each week, and I'm sure to glean oops I mean I'm sure you'll glean some tips from me. For the photo-rich tutorial, hit up My Pizza Primer which covers doughs and discovering toppings in your kitchen. For more advice and wisdom, check out my 7 Tips for Successful Pizza at Home.

Chicken Pizza with Strawberry Salsa and Garlic Scape Pesto

1 large chicken breast, cooked and cubed (leftover roasted or rotisserie works great here)

¼ cup strawberry salsa (here's my recipe)

1 pound pizza dough of your choice (some ideas here)

olive oil for brushing the crust

¼ cup garlic scape pesto (my recipe is here)

½ cup chopped green peppers

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

½ cup crumbled queso cheese

¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, to finish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. If you've got a pizza stone, preheat that as well. The hotter your oven/stone is, the better.  In a medium bowl, toss chicken with salsa and set aside. On an oiled piece of parchment paper, stretch dough out into the shape that it feels like being today. Dough has feels, you know. You can handle the feels. Brush a bit of olive oil across dough, then spread garlic scape pesto across dough. Top with chicken, peppers, and cheese. Gently throw the whole thing, parchment paper and all, into the oven for 5 to 8 minutes, using a cookie sheet if you're stone-less. Shimmy the crust off the parchment paper and continue baking directly on the stone or cookie sheet for another 3 to 5 minutes. This type of cheese will not really bubble, but it will brown. Transfer to a rack to cool briefly, top with fresh cilantro, then slice and serve. [Why do I show cooked pizzas on parchment paper? I put them back on when I slice, to contain the crumbs and keep my tray or peel cleaner.]

This post is shared with What's Cookin' Wednesday.