Italians' menus are ever-changing; pizza in Italy changes with the harvested vegetables of the seasons. As we enter the cold months, gone are the vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh basil of summer; Italian winters' squash, golden potatoes and roasted cauliflower come out to play, tantalizing our taste buds.

 Winter pizza is all about the toppings & the preparation...traditional Italian cool-weather toppings include cabbage, fennel, radicchio, spinach, pumpkin, eggplant, green beans, arugula, Swiss chard and mushrooms. Although summertime vegetables are often used fresh from the garden, these wintertime toppings are usually roasted before they top the pizza dough. Prepared properly, roasting, steaming or sautéing your vegetables allows them to caramelize, resulting in warm, savory toppings for your wintertime pizzas.



Try this warming winter Pizza Recipe:

Pizza Pazza

1 whole Yukon gold potato, peeled, thinly sliced and steamed

2 twigs rosemary, broken into small pieces

4 to 5 ounces Trugole Italian cheese or Gruyere

1 fresh mozzarella ball, chopped into 1-inch cubes

1 handful fresh arugula

Sprinkle salt

1 teaspoon sunflower oil

Place potato slices on pizza dough. Sprinkle with rosemary. Add Trugole or Gruyere cheese, mozzarella, arugula, sprinkle of salt and sunflower oil.

Recipe courtesy of azcentral.com