Hummus & Salad Pizza

This fun dish uses a store-bought pizza dough that is baked until it’s warm and crisp, then spreads it with hummus and tops it with a bright tangle of lemony greens and herbs. You can use literally any lettuce or greens you want for the salad, but for this one I went with mesclun greens and pea shoots.

What are mesclun greens?

Mesclun, or mesclun greens, refers to mixture of young lettuces. It’s the basic mix of greens found in your local salad bar, on a menu at a restaurant, and in the produce aisle at the grocery store. The percentage of each leaf varies, based on whomever has created the blend, but it’s always composed of the most tender leaves. The greens include tender leafy greens and can include arugula, endive, chervil, young red and green lettuces, baby spinach, mustard greens, frisée, mizuna, young Swiss chard, radicchio and sorrel. Young collard greens, tatsoi, dandelion greens, and garden cress may also be used. Mesclun is simply a mix of four different types of these kinds of greens.

How to make Hummus & Salad Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 pound pizza dough
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing and drizzling
• 1 cup mesclun greens
• 1 cup parsley leaves
• 1 cup mint leaves
• 1 cup snipped pea shoots, sunflower sprouts or purslane
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup prepared hummus, at room temperature
• Flaky sea salt
• Pepper
• Shredded ricotta salata, for serving*

*Ricotta Salata is a type of ricotta cheese that’s aged for 90 days until it has a firm, crumbly texture. This block of rindless white cheese has a bright profile of fresh milk and sea salt and a velvety mouthfeel that make it an ideal addition to pasta and salads.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450° for at least 30 minutes. On a large rimmed baking sheet, stretch and pull the dough to a 14-inch-long oval and brush with olive oil. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the crust is puffed and browned.
2. In a bowl, toss the mesclun with the parsley, mint, pea shoots and lemon juice. Spread the hummus on the hot crust. Pile the salad on the pizza and season with flaky sea salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and top with shredded ricotta salata. Cut into wedges and serve right away.