Strawberry Balsamic 4-Cheese Pizza
This is the perfect Spring or Summer dinner recipe that the whole family will love! This strawberry balsamic 4-cheese pizza is somehow both rich and light at the same time. It has the richness and saltiness from the Parmesan white sauce, Mozzarella, Butter cheese, and creamy Macedonian Feta, but is beautifully balanced by the sweet strawberries, sweet and tangy balsamic reduction, and fresh basil. The best part about this is you can get the perfect pizza in under 45 minutes from start to finish (or even under 15 minutes if you aren’t making your own dough) using my fool-proof quick and easy pizza method! I HIGHLY recommend using this method for a consistently great pizza, especially if you’re making pizza for a large group! It’s efficient and delivers a consistently great product.
The Wine Pairing
I recommend pairing this pizza with a chilled rosé for those matching red fruit notes, specifically one with enough weight and body to it to match the richness of the pizza.
My number one recommendation:
The Barnard Griffin Rosé of Sangiovese from the Columbia Valley in Washington State. This is a consistently delicious, deep-coloured rosé with vibrant flavours of strawberry, watermelon, cantaloupe, mandarin orange, and fresh herbs with a gorgeous minerality. It has crisp, mouth-watering acidity, as you would expect with most rosé, but also has a lushness to it that makes it the perfect companion to meals like this pizza that have a little more richness and complexity to them!
Buy it here (Calgary and US Link): Barnard Griffin Rosé of Sangiovese
Alternatively, look for a French Tavel Rosé. Tavel is an AOP (Appellation D’Origine Protégée), or controlled wine-growing area in the Southern Rhône wine region of France. All wines from Tavel are rosé, and they have a distinct deep coral colour and a beautiful rich complexity to them. These wines will have a very similar flavour and mouthfeel to the featured wine!
Steph’s Quick and Easy, Fool-Proof Pizza Method
Make your easy pizza dough using quick-rise, instant yeast. I based my recipe off this one by Sugar Spun Run and it is fantastic! Easy to throw together and ready in 30 minutes.
Use a pizza stone. This is a key part of this process and makes for the perfect pizza, everytime! Place your pizza stone in the oven before you preheat it so that it heats alongside the oven and is ready when you need it.
Set the oven to 500 degrees F. The high temperature with the pizza stone makes for a quick and even bake.
Use parchment paper for the first 2 minutes of baking. This helps with seamlessly transferring your uncooked pizza to the stone and can help prevent the bottom of the dough from burning or browning too quickly. Roll out your dough on a floured surface and then transfer the dough to a piece of parchment paper. Add your toppings, and then transfer the pizza with the parchment paper to the pizza stone using a pizza spatula. This is by far the easiest and safest way to transfer it since the oven is so hot! From here you want to set a timer for 2 minutes. Once the 2 minutes are up, use your pizza spatula to hold the pizza in place while you pull out the parchment paper, then set the timer for an additional 5 minutes to finish cooking the pizza. The timing here might vary a bit depending on your dough and your oven, so it’s always a good idea to start with 5 minutes and then add on time if needed.
Strawberry Balsamic 4-Cheese Pizza
Ingredients
Instructions
- Mix together yeast, sugar, salt, oil, and warm water. Let sit for about 10 minutes until yeast activates (becomes frothy).
- Add 1 cup of flour and mix until combined with a wooden spoon. Add second cup of flour. Using your hands, work into a ball of dough and knead for 2-3 minutes.
- Form a ball with the dough, coat with olive oil, and cover with a dish towel. Let rise for around 20-30 minutes (it should double in size).
- Remove from the bowl and cut in half for 2 servings. You can make 2 pizzas or you can wrap one in plastic wrap and freeze until you need it!
- Melt butter in a small to medium skillet over medium heat.
- Add flour and mix to create a paste, followed by milk. Stir to make a basic bechamel sauce.
- Add olive oil, lemon juice, shredded Parmesan, salt, and pepper and stir again to combine. Thin out with more milk as needed to reach desired consistency. You want the consistency to resemble that of a classic pizza sauce.
- Place pizza stone in the oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees F. See the steps for my quick and easy fool-proof pizza method for some background!
- Roll out pizza dough on a floured surface then transfer to a piece of parchment paper.
- Top with white sauce, followed by shredded Mozzarella, shredded Butter cheese or Fontina, and sliced strawberries. All of the cheese I used for the recipe is from Springbank Cheese Co. (available across Canada!)
- Add creamy Macadonian feta to a bowl with 1 tsp feta brine and 1 tbsp milk. Whip feta with a fork until smooth and fluffy. You may need to add more milk to get your desired consistency. Add dollops of whipped feta to the pizza.
- Using a pizza spatula, transfer dough with the parchment paper to the heated pizza stone in the oven and bake for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, hold the pizza in place using your pizza spatula and remove the parchment paper so that the pizza is directly on the pizza stone. Bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven, top with fresh basil and drizzle with balsamic reduction. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes before slicing, and then serve with a chilled bottle of Rosé!
