Potato Bacon Pesto Pizza

Pizza is a forever favorite in my home, and I love its versatility.  I found a pesto potato pizza recipe and decided to add bacon, because let's face it, everything is better with bacon.  I also decided to make my pesto from scratch because fresh basil smells wonderful.

Start off by preheating your oven to 450 degrees.  Now time to make that pesto.

Pesto Sauce:

2 oz. basil, remove stems (about 3 bunches, I used the container pictured above)

1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 large cloves garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts (if you're feeling fancy)

Food process or blend these ingredients until smooth.  Should look like this:

I used a store-bought pizza dough, you can also get one from your favorite pizzeria.  The dough I got was kind of small, I like a super crispy thin crust.  Flour a flat surface well and work the dough into a circular shape.  You can use a rolling pin if that's easier for you.

Now spread that fresh pesto you just made onto the crust and set aside.

Pizza toppings:

1 medium sized red potato, sliced thinly

3 slices thick slab bacon

1 tsp oregano

a drizzle of olive oil

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Lay out your 3 slices of bacon.  Place in the oven for 6 minutes.  Turn over and cook for an additional 6 minutes.  You want the bacon to be crispy and break apart easily.  Get your potatoes ready while your bacon is cooking.

Slice those potatoes thinly!  Get a pot of water boiling. 

Then parboil the potatoes for 2 minutes.  Stir once while they are parboiling.  It is okay if your potatoes are still firm when you drain them.  They will finish cooking in the oven.

 Drain the potatoes in a colander or strainer.  Put on a paper towel and sprinkle with oregano.  Toss in a drizzle of olive oil until thinly coated.

When the bacon is finished, put on a paper towel to soak up the grease.  Leave that oven on, because the pizza will cook at the same temperature.  When the bacon has cooled down, fold in all the edges of the paper towel so the bacon breaks up into crumbles.  Break up any large pieces.  Now it's time to assemble your pizza.  Layer half of the cheese on the pesto.  Arrange the potatoes in one layer on top of the cheese.  Sprinkle bacon crumbles on top. 

Finish with the rest of the cheese. 

Bake for 9-10 minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbly.  If your crust is thicker, it might take a little longer.  Let cool for five minutes, then dig in!