Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Dough and Base
- 400 g pizza dough, room temperature
- 15 ml olive oil
Toppings
- 2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 15 ml olive oil
- 15 g unsalted butter
- 1 swiss chard, stemmed and roughly chopped
- 150 g whole milk ricotta, drained if excessively wet
- 40 g vegetarian parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 3 g fine sea salt
- 2 g black pepper, freshly cracked
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 246 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbohydrates
- 30 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 4 g
- Sodium
- 569 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 3 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 4 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 17 mg
- Potassium
- 234 mg
- Calcium
- 137 mg
- Iron
- 1.5 mg
- Magnesium
- 32 mg
- Phosphorus
- 90 mg
- Zinc
- 0.4 mg
- Vitamin A
- 122 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 11 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.1 mg
- Vitamin K
- 211 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.04 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.11 mg
- Niacin
- 0.2 mg
- Folate
- 14 mcg
- Water
- 83 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Place a pizza stone or inverted heavy baking sheet in the oven. Preheat the oven to 260°C/500°F. Allow the stone to heat for at least 30 minutes to ensure a crispy crust.
Heat 15ml of olive oil and the unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden brown and softened, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Add the chopped Swiss chard to the caramelized onions in the skillet. Toss and cook until the leaves are completely wilted and any liquid has evaporated, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with the remaining salt and black pepper.
Place the room temperature pizza dough on a large sheet of parchment paper. Gently stretch or press the dough into a 30cm circle, leaving a slightly thicker border for the crust.
Brush the stretched dough lightly with the remaining olive oil. Distribute the onion and Swiss chard mixture evenly across the base. Spoon small dollops of ricotta cheese over the greens, then sprinkle evenly with the grated vegetarian parmesan.
Carefully slide the parchment paper with the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone in the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is puffed and golden brown, and the cheeses are bubbling.
Remove the pizza from the oven and discard the parchment paper. Allow the pizza to rest on a wire rack for 3 minutes before slicing to let the toppings set without making the crust soggy.
Chef's Notes
- True traditional parmesan is made with animal rennet. To keep this recipe strictly vegetarian, ensure you purchase a parmesan-style cheese that explicitly uses microbial or plant-based rennet.
- When caramelizing onions, patience is key. Do not rush the process with high heat, which will fry rather than caramelize them, resulting in a bitter flavor rather than the desired sweet depth.
- Swiss chard stems are edible and delicious. While this recipe uses just the leaves for a delicate topping, you can finely dice the stems and cook them down with the onions early in the process to reduce waste.
- If your ricotta is particularly watery, place it in a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth over a bowl in the refrigerator for a few hours before using. This prevents the pizza crust from becoming soggy.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Keep in an airtight container to prevent the crust from absorbing excess moisture.
Reheating: Reheat slices in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or in a 175 C oven until warmed through and the crust is crisp.
Troubleshooting
Dough shrinks back while stretching
Cause: Gluten is too tight because the dough is too cold or was recently overworked
Fix: Cover the dough with a damp towel, let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes to relax the gluten, then try stretching again
Prevention: Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for at least 30 to 60 minutes before stretching
Soggy center crust
Cause: Excess moisture from the ricotta or Swiss chard, or the pizza stone was not hot enough
Fix: Cannot be fixed once baked, but can be mitigated by reheating slices in a dry skillet
Prevention: Thoroughly drain wet ricotta, ensure all liquid is cooked out of the chard, and fully preheat the pizza stone
Cultural Context
This recipe is inspired by the Italian pizza bianca (white pizza), which traditionally eschews tomato sauce in favor of a simple base of olive oil, salt, and cheese. The pairing of bitter greens and sweet elements, like caramelized onions, is a classic Italian flavor profile that elegantly balances rich dairy ingredients. Serving this as an appetizer or light weeknight meal nods to the modern, health-conscious evolution of artisanal pizza making.
