We’ve been making a fair number of pizzas lately. Chimp’s local holy-grail pizzeria closed last fall, leaving a big round hole in his life. I like white pizza, and wanted a sauce with real roasted garlic oomph and strong cheese flavor. In this recipe, I roast an entire pound of garlic, and combine it with Parmigiano-Reggiano and heavy cream. There’s no starch in it, and no standing over the stove.
Roasted Garlic White Pizza Sauce [Gluten-Free][No stovetop]
Instead of beginning with thin ingredients and thickening them, this starts from the other direction and arrives at a spreadable paste. I've called this a white pizza sauce, but there aren't many savory foodstuffs this combination of garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and cream won't glorify.
Servings: 6 pizzas
Calories: 431kcal
Equipment
- food processor or blender
- fine food processor shredding disc or cheese grater
Ingredients
For the roasted garlic
- 470 g garlic bulbs
- 13 g olive oil
- water
To complete the sauce
- 250 g Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 230 g heavy cream
- 20 g salt
Instructions
To make the roasted garlic
- Preheat the oven to 450 F.
- Remove most of the outer layer of papery skin covering the bulbs of garlic. Check the root end of the garlic for embedded dirt. If the roots are dirty, scrub them under running water with a vegetable brush.
- Setting each bulb of garlic on its side in succession, carefully cut enough of the top off to expose some of the top surface of most of the cloves.
- Fit the bulbs of garlic, cut side up, into a 9"x5" loaf pan or other oven-safe vessel that will hold them snugly.
- Add enough water to the garlic to barely cover the bottom of the vessel. Don't overfill; a little will help them cook evenly throughout as the water boils away, but too much will cause them to continue to steam rather than roast.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the bulbs. Cover with a lid or foil tightly crimped to the vessel.
- Place in the preheated oven and roast for one hour, until soft and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Drain if necessary.
- Peel the cooled garlic by pulling the skin away from the cloves or separating each clove from the bulb and squeezing the roasted garlic out of it. There should be about 280 g or one cup by volume.
To make the sauce in a food processor
- Carefully set up the food processor with the fine shredding disc. Shred the cheese. Turn the cheese into a large bowl and set aside.
- Remove the shredding disc and carefully replace it with the knife blade.
- Add the cheese back to the food processor. Pour the cream over the cheese. Add the salt.
- Turn on the food processor and run until the sauce is just uniform. The cream will turn to butter if run too long, so don't walk away from it.
To make the sauce in a blender
- Grate the cheese using the fine holes of a cheese grater.
- Peel the cooled garlic by pulling the skin away from the cloves or separating each clove from the bulb and squeezing the roasted garlic out of it. Add to the blender.
- Add the grated cheese to the blender. Pour the cream over the cheese. Add the salt.
- Turn on the blender and run until the sauce is just uniform, scraping down if necessary. The cream will turn to butter if run too long, so don't walk away from it.
Notes
Usage note: Though this is thick, don't overload a pizza with it - it's strongly-flavored so not a lot is needed, but it still does contain liquid, too much of which is not pizza's friend.
Where are the herbs? I've not included herbs in the recipe, as I think they lose their punch as the sauce is stored. Better to sprinkle them liberally over the surface of the pie before or after baking - your preference.
Yield: This recipe makes three cups - enough for six large pizzas - and freezes well. Thaw it completely in the fridge, then stir to mix in any liquid if necessary.
Nutrition note: The nutrition calculation is for one-half cup of the sauce, which will cover a large pizza. Beyond that, well, I figure how much of a large pizza you eat is your business.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5c | Calories: 431kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1987mg | Potassium: 381mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 889IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 660mg | Iron: 2mg
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