One of Susan’s favorite pizzas is the Rosemary Chicken and Potato Pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. Unfortunately, this pizza has been discontinued in the restaurants. Its recipe, however, is in The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook.
As a dutiful daughter, Susan got me this cookbook, and suggested that we try out the recipe. I said absolutely! The actual recipe looks pretty involved, but actually doesn’t take that much time if it’s prepared in the five distinct steps. This pizza is so good that I’ve updated the recipe from the February 7, 2015 post.
Making the Pizza Dough:
In the first step, I prepared the pizza dough. I’ve tried different pizza doughs and my favorite is Neo-Neopolitan Pizza Dough from Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day.
Preparing the Chicken:
For the second step, I prepared the chicken. I used the following ingredients: Chicken breasts, minced fresh garlic, soy sauce, Kosher salt, and olive oil.
For the chicken marinade, I combined the minced garlic, soy sauce, Kosher salt and olive oil in a small bowl. Then I placed the boneless and skinless chicken breasts in a quart-size ziploc bag and poured in the marinade. I sealed the bag and marinated the chicken in the garlic oil for about 15 minutes.
Next, I grilled the chicken on my panini press at 420° F for about 3 minutes until it was cooked through. Then, I removed the chicken and let it cool a bit. Once it was cool, I cut the chicken into half-inch cubes, and put it in the refrigerator until I was ready to build the pizzas.
Making the Garlic-Shallot Butter with Lemon:
In the third step, I made garlic-shallot butter with lemon. The ingredients included unsalted butter, minced shallots, minced garlic, dried thyme, Kosher salt, ground white pepper, Chardonnay, and fresh lemon juice.
First, I cooked the shallots, garlic and thyme in one Tablespoon of the butter over medium high for 5 to 7 minutes until the mixture was a light brown. Then, I added the wine, lemon juice, salt, and white pepper.
I whisked the mixture over medium high heat for about 5 minutes until it was reduced to about 1/2 cup. Then, I removed the pan from the heat and whisked in the remaining butter. I set this aside until was ready to build the pizzas.
Preparing the Potatoes:
For the final step before building the pizza, I prepared the potatoes. I used the following ingredients: Red potatoes, garlic, fresh rosemary, salt, oregano, white pepper and olive oil. The actual recipe called for too much salt, so I used half of what was called for.
I used my food processor with the 4mm blade to cut the potatoes. Then I mixed the garlic, rosemary, salt, oregano, white pepper and olive oil in a small bowl and added the mixture to the potatoes. I mixed the potatoes and mixture with a wooden spoon until the potatoes were well coated, and spread them out on a non-stick aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
Into a 325° F oven the potatoes go for 40 to 45 minutes. I turned them half way through the cooking to ensure even browning. When they were done, I drained the potatoes on paper towels.
Building the Pizzas:
At this point, everything was ready for the building of the pizzas. This is where Susan took over. She spread out the dough on a reusable piece of parchment. Initially, the dough was quite elastic, but became very easy to work with after it rested a bit. Then, she. spread some of the garlic butter on the dough, and sprinkled on some mozzarella cheese.
Next, Susan sprinkled on the chicken along with the fresh rosemary and oregano. Finally, she added the potatoes.
After sprinkling on a bit more mozzarella, Susan slipped the pizza onto a stone that had been heated in a 450° F oven.
The pizza was perfectly done after 11 minutes. Susan proclaimed it even better than the CPK Rosemary Chicken and Potato Pizza that she had at the restaurant. Part of the reason was that the crust was thin and crispy. Yum!
CPK Rosemary Chicken and Potato Pizza (adapted from recipe on pages 19 and 20 from The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook)
Ingredients
Garlic-Shallot Butter with Lemon
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup minced shallot
- 2 Tablespoons minced fresh garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Pinch ground white pepper
- 1/4 cup Chardonnay
- 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Grilled Garlic Chicken
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 10 ounces boneless/skinless chicken breasts
Rosemary Potatoes
- 1/2 pound small red potatoes sliced into 4mm-thick rounds (1/8-inch)
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
For the Pizza
- 2 8.5-ounce pieces pizza dough
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Garlic-Shallot Butter with Lemon
- Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot, garlic and thyme. Cook, stirring until mixture is light brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add salt, pepper, wine and lemon juice. Cook until the mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, quickly and thoroughly whisk in the remaining 4 Tablespoons of butter. May be prepared in advance.
Grilled Garlic Chicken
- Combine garlic, soy sauce and olive oil in a small bowl. Place chicken breasts in a 1-quart ziploc bag. Pour in marinade ensuring that the chicken is well coated. Seal bag. Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Cook chicken on a hot grill (5 to 7 minutes on each side) or panini press heated to 420° F (3 to 4 minutes) or until chicken is fully cooked. Remove the cooked chicken to cool. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Rosemary Potatoes
- Preheat oven to 325° F. Combine sliced potatoes with the remainder of the ingredients; coat thoroughly. Transfer the potato slices to a baking sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil; spread in a single layer (do not overlap). Discard leftover marinade - do not pour it over the potatoes.
- Cook the potatoes in the preheated oven for approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Half way through, turn the potatoes to ensure even browning. Remove from oven when the potatoes begin to brown slightly. Using a steel spatula, remove the potatoes form the baking sheet. Place on paper towels at room temperature to drain off any excess oil. Do not refrigerate.
For the Pizza
- Place pizza stone in the center of the oven and preheat to 450° F for one hour before cooking the pizza.
- Prepare and shape the dough on a piece of reusable parchment. Spread 2 Tablespoons of the Garlic-Shallot butter over the surface of the prepared pizza dough. Cover the butter with half of the mozzarella. Distribute half of the grilled garlic chicken evenly over the cheese.
- Sprinkle half of the rosemary and oregano over the chicken. Place the rosemary potatoes over the other toppings, spaced about 1-inch apart. Top with additional mozzarella cheese.
- Transfer the pizza to the oven; bake until the crust is crisp and golden and the cheese at the center is bubbly, 10 to 11 minutes. When cooked, carefully remove the pizza from the oven. Sprinkle half of the remaining rosemary and half the parsley over the hot potato topping. Slice and serve. Repeat with remaining ingredients for a second pizza. Yield: 2 12-inch pizzas.