CHICKEN PICCATA MEATBALL PIZZA

To make the pizza dough, place olive oil, honey, and water into the bowl of a stand mixer.  Stir to dissolve honey into the water (so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the bowl).  Sprinkle the yeast on top of the liquid mixture, stir, and let sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast becomes foamy.  Add salt and 1 ½ cups of the flour.  Mix using the dough hook attachment.  Gradually add as much of the remaining flour as needed until a ball forms and pulls away from the bowl.  Empty dough onto a floured countertop and knead for 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic adding flour as needed if sticky.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel.  Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled in bulk.  Knead dough briefly and form into a ball.  Let rest for 15 minutes under a clean kitchen towel.  If you are not using the dough in the same day, refrigerate in a plastic bag sprayed with cooking spray overnight or up to 3 days.  When you are ready to make the pizza, bring the dough to room temperature and knead briefly.  Let the dough rise on a countertop lightly dusted with flour under a clean kitchen towel for 20-30 minutes, while you prepare the toppings.

Place your pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees for at least 20-30 minutes.

To make the meatballs, combine the egg, garlic, panko, parm, salt, pepper, parsley, capers, zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Mix everything together with a fork to combine.  Add the ground chicken to the bowl and massage everything together with your hands until well combined.  Form this mixture into small balls, about the size of a golf ball.

Preheat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, turning gingerly with tongs as they brown.  Set aside while you prepare the pizza dough.

Form your pizza dough into a 10” round. Sprinkle the cornmeal on a pizza peel and place your formed dough on top of it.

Spread the cream cheese evenly over the dough leaving about 1” of dough exposed around the edge of the dough for the crust.  Sprinkle ¼ cup of the grated parmesan over the cream cheese followed by the shredded Fontina cheese.

Cut the meatballs in half and place them all over the top of the pizza, cut side down.  Place the lemon slices between the meatballs all over the pizza. Sprinkle the capers and red pepper flakes evenly all over the top.

Drizzle the olive oil all over the exposed crust.  Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of the parmesan all over the top of the pizza.

Slide the pizza onto the preheated stone and cook for 12-14 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Top with the fresh chopped parsley and DEVOUR!!

The iconic Italian-American dish, chicken piccata, was my inspiration for this crazy delicious pizza!  Lemony chicken meatballs with capers and parmesan have all of the bright and tangy notes of the traditional piccata dish. The pizza is studded with the meatballs, lemon slices, and more capers and parmesan on a creamy cheese base.  Each bite pops with piccata flavors and the Coppola Diamond Collection Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect pairing with the bright citrusy notes on this pizza.