Salsa Verde:
3 California avocados, pitted, peeled, and quartered (save 2 pits)
1/2 cup water
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
4-5 tomatillos, husked and quartered
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
3-4 serrano peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime, plus more for paper towel
Salt and pepper, to taste
Oven Roasted Tomatoes:
1 28-ounce can San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
1 red onion, thickly sliced
4-5 fresh rosemary sprigs
Olive oil, as needed
Salt and pepper, as needed
Pizza and Garnishes:
10 ounces prepared pizza dough
4 ounces Salsa Verde
7-9 (1/2) pieces Oven Roasted Tomatoes
3 ounces smoked pork belly
2 ounces crumbled Real California cotija cheese
2 ounces Real California Mexican crema
Lime, as needed
Cilantro leaves, as needed
1 ounce finely grated Real California Hispanic-Style Manchego cheese
To prepare Salsa Verde, combine avocados, water, onion, tomatillos, cilantro, serrano peppers, and lime juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a container, add avocado pits (to help avoid oxidation), and cover with a lime juice-soaked paper towel.
To prepare Oven Roasted Tomatoes, preheat oven to 250°F. Halve tomatoes and shake out excess juice and seeds. Arrange on a sheet pan cut side up and top with onion and rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil and season with just a little salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 hours, flipping tomatoes every half hour, until tomatoes are still a little juicy (don’t let them dry out too much). Remove individual halves as they’re done (they should be a rich red color).
To prepare Pizza and Garnishes, preheat a deck pizza oven* to 575°F. Toss and stretch pizza dough by hand to 10-inch round and place on lightly floured pizza peel. Top with Salsa Verde, Oven Roasted Tomatoes, pork belly, and cotija cheese. Bake until crust is golden and crisp, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven, cut into 6 slices, and drizzle with crema. Top with a squeeze of lime, cilantro leaves, and Manchego cheese.
Chef Note: Chef recommends a dough created for deck oven but toppings will work with any type of oven.
Recipe courtesy of Chef Christopher Lascik, Well80 Brewhouse, Yelm, Wash.
Finalist, Cal-Mex Category, Real California Pizza Contest, 2022
