Gainesville summers consist of two types of weather, which alternate about every five minutes:
- Humid and very hot
- Humid, moderately hot, and pouring rain
Today I left for the lab at about 1 p.m. on my bike, when the humid-and-very-hot part of the cycle should have been reaching its peak. But I was shocked when I started peddling and did NOT instantly start sweating. The lighter air and less extreme temperature felt relieving for about a millisecond, when it hit me that SUMMER IS ENDING, and I’M NOT READY.
Even though Fall classes are 1,000,000% in full swing and summer effectively disappeared weeks ago, something about the hot months lifts my mood and makes everything seem just a little more relaxed. Plus, and perhaps most importantly, the hot months mean FRESH SUMMER PRODUCE.
I’m looking at you, juicy sweet peaches.
So I’m in a race with the calendar to load up on all of late-summer’s best–peaches, cherries, tomatoes, corn, basil, zucchini, eggplant–before everything is replaced with pumpkin. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about pumpkin season too, just not at all ready to part with my beloved summer goodies.)
Thus, I give you BBQ Pork Peach Pizza: The ultimate combo that will have your tastebuds dancing, and the perfect way to celebrate the end of the season.
The Players
- BBQ sauce– I’m from Alabama, where a good BBQ sauce is essential to life and belongs on any type of food with meat involved. Yes, this includes pizza. A thousand times YES. It may even be my favorite version of pizza sauce. When choosing a BBQ sauce, I opt for the slightly thinner, spicier sauces (such as Stubb’s, Woodstock, or Annie’s Original) as opposed to the super-thick sweet ones. But if you’re a Sweet Baby Ray’s person, I won’t judge.
- Pork (tenderloin)- For the pork, I just cook small leftover pieces of pork tenderloin on the stove until {almost} cooked through, then pull the pieces apart by hand. The texture is amazing, and there’s no excess grease to make your crust soggy or weigh you down. Of course, you could use another type of meat like chicken or bacon instead–all three fantastic choices.
- Red onion– Lightly seared for a more mild taste by still a kick of flavor.
- Spinach– Because why not? You can get in soooo much without over-loading your pizza by letting it wilt first. Just remember that spinach cooks in about a second, so just toss it in your hot skillet with a touch of EVOO and give it a quick stir.
- Peach– Go for fresh, juicy, ripe and sweet. Just remember to slice them very thin to avoid adding too much moisture or bulk to the crust. (Trying to keep it crispy.)
- Fontina and smoked mozzarella– These Italian cheeses melt beautifully, and the smokey flavor pairs especially well with this combo. If these aren’t available, experiment with your own! Provolone, gouda, asiago…?
- Homemade whole wheat dough– Check out this dough recipe, tutorial, and a no-fail pizza stone tactic!
BBQ Pork and Peach Pizza
Notes
*You could also use chicken or bacon.
**I recommend Stubb's, Woodstock, or Annie's Original.
***No-fail pizza stone tactic: Cut parchment paper so that it is just bigger than your pizza. Top with everything except cheese. Remove the HOT pizza stone from the oven, lightly sprinkle cornmeal on the stone, then slide the parchment (with the pizza on it) onto the stone. Return to the oven and bake about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove stone from oven and slide parchment out from under the pizza. Top with cheese and return to the oven for another 6-9 minutes, or until crispy. Slide onto a large cutting board, slice, and serve! As needed, you can return slices to the stone and put them back in the oven to crisp up further.
Ingredients
- 1/5 whole wheat pizza dough recipe
- 2-3 oz raw pork tenderloin, sliced in half*
- sea salt and black pepper
- 2 Tbsp thinly sliced red onion
- ~2 oz peach, thinly sliced
- ~1/2 cup spinach
- 2 tsp BBQ sauce**
- 1 oz Italian cheese (such as smoked mozzarella and fontina), freshly shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475º. If using a pizza stone, allow the stone to preheat with the oven.
- Lightly grease a nonstick skillet and heat over medium. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Cook the pieces about 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. (But don't overcook! It should still be pink in the middle.) Rest at least 5 minutes, then pull apart by hand.
- Add red onion and peach slices to skillet and sear ~2 minutes, without stirring. Set aside.
- Add spinach to skillet along with 1-2 tsp broth or water; stir just until wilted, while scraping any browned bits from the pan.
- Place pizza dough on parchment paper lightly dusted with cornmeal, or directly onto a pizza pan dusted with cornmeal; roll out thin.***
- Top with BBQ sauce, pulled pork, spinach (withOUT excess liquid), onion, and peach. If using, slide onto a hot pizza stone or {holey} pizza pan (see notes below). Bake at 475º about 10 minutes. Remove, add cheese, and bake 6-9 minutes longer, or until crispy. Slice and enjoy! Return slices to oven if necessary to crisp up further.