This is my interpretation of Pizz’a Chicago’s Joliet Jake. The pizzas are named after Chicago landmarks and notable personalities, and are made with a wide range of ingredients. The Joliet Jake is a vegetarian pizza which consists of four varieties of mushrooms: shiitake, Portobello, crimini and button with shredded mozzarella cheese, dried apricots and fresh basil.
I tried to stay true to the Chicago-style deep dish pizza and baked the pizza in a non-stick round pan until the top was golden, the cheese bubbly and the crust golden brown, then served it while still piping hot.
1. Info for Four-Mushroom and Apricot Pizza Recipe
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Servings: 8
- Calories: 309 kcal
2. Ingredients for Four-Mushroom and Apricot Pizza Recipe
- 1 Portobello mushroom, coarsely chopped
- 4 crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 3 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 3 button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 5 dried apricots, sliced
- 2 (16-ounce) packages whole wheat pizza dough, store-bought
- 3 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese, shredded
3. Directions:
3.1 For the mushrooms
In a small pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and hoisin sauce and sauté until shiny. Season with salt. Add the apricots, mix well and set aside.
3.2 Assembling the pizza
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Punch the air bubbles of the dough. Form 2 (11-inch) disks using a rolling pin.
Grease 2 (9-inch) round deep-dish pans (see tips) with the olive oil. Press 1 disk of dough into each pan, pressing to the edge and stretching about 1 inch up the sides. Dimple the dough with your fingers to shape it. Let rest for at least 10 minutes.
Spread a very thin layer of tomato sauce. Cover with mozzarella cheese. Add the mushrroms, apricots, 3 tablespoons basil and a drizzling of the basil oil. Let the shaped pizza rest for another 10 minutes. It will increase in volume a little.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Sprinkle with more basil and drizzle a little more olive oil.
Remove from the oven, slice and serve immediately.
Bon appétit!
4. Tips and advices:
- I used Trader Joe’s ready-made pizza dough.
- I used non-stick (9-inch) round cake pans.
- You can make mini-pizzas and serve them as appetizers. It’s a great time-saver when you have a buffet-style party.
