Roasted Garlic Pesto Pizza and Drive My Car

Hello and Welcome to Pizza and a Movie! This week’s pizza is very simple, both in preparation and the end result. It’s not loaded with toppings – just a simple pesto and cheese pizza. The special part is the pesto, we are making fresh pesto with roasted garlic. Roasted garlic pesto has a deep garlic flavor, without the potent fresh garlic bite. We will add a couple garnish toppings, that are optional: we have toasted panko breadcrumbs and chili crunch. Let’s get right to it! Roasted Garlic Pesto Pizza.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. I have pre-peeled garlic cloves, about 3 ounces. Spread the cloves on a sheet tray and drizzle olive oil over them, add a pinch of kosher salt and give the sheet pan a little shake to coat the cloves in oil and salt. Pop the tray in the oven and roast for about 10 minutes, until they are beginning to brown. Give the cloves a stir and continue roasting for another 5 minutes or so. When the cloves are toasted and roasted, let them cool while we gather the rest of the ingredients. Turn the oven temp up to 450 degrees F, with a pizza stone or steel.

Roasted Garlic Pesto

Toss about 4 to six ounces of fresh basil leaves in the bowl of a food processor. Add the roasted garlic cloves and 1/3 cup of roasted pine nuts. Pulse the ingredients several times to get a chimichurri-type of consistency. Then add 1/4 cup of powdered parmesan cheese. With the processor running, drizzle in olive oil until you have a fine texture and a smooth pesto. Taste the pesto and add kosher salt if needed.

Roasted Garlic Pesto Pizza

Roll, stretch or pull your pizza dough out to about a 12-inch round, on a lightly floured surface. Spread on as much pesto as you like, I used about 3/4 cup. Use the backside of a silicone spatula to evenly spread the pesto, leaving a 1-inch border for the crust.

Top the pesto with grated low-moisture mozzarella. Use as much cheese as you like!

It’s ready for the oven. Bake the pizza on the steel or stone for about 10-12 minutes, until the crust is puffed and golden; and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

When the pizza comes out of the oven, enjoy as is – or, brush the crust with olive oil.

Sprinkle on toasted panko breadcrumbs and drizzle on some chili crunch. This pizza is super simple, and the small garnish toppings are totally optional, but they bring a little extra texture and the chili crunch is a little spicy.

Movie Night: Drive My Car

We have our Roasted garlic Pest Pizza ready, so let’s get to the movie! Drive My Car is the highly praised and celebrated Japanese film, nominated for Academy and Golden Globe awards; taking the Oscar for Best International Feature Film; and the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Co-written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the film is based on the short story of the same name, by Haruki Murakami.

I am not sure where to start with a description of this film, except to say I enjoyed it very much. It’s layered with so much irony and play-within-a-play moments that there is so much more to read into every moment, especially on a second watch. All of this is happening with the heavy text of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya as the through-line, but none of it feels heavy-handed. Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is an actor-turned-director who has been asked to stage his multi-lingual production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima, two years after the unexpected death of his wife. To avoid spoilers, I will leave it there. Safe to say this movie should be on your must-watch list. A rich and touching story, told beautifully. Drive My Car is available to rent on Amazon, Apple and Vudu and is on HBO Max with a subscription.

Thank you so much for joining me today for this Roasted Garlic Pesto Pizza and Drive My Car. I do hope you give both a try! If you want another great Pizza and Movie combination, try Pesto Chicken Pizza and Supernova. Supernova is another beautiful story about love, loss and connection. Take care and be well, xo Kelly

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Roasted Garlic Peso Pizza

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Dinner, Main Course – American/Italian

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 2-4

Prep Time: 30 Minutes – Cooking Time: 10-15 Minutes – Total Time: ~45 Minutes

Richly flavored, Roasted Garlic Pesto is the star of today's pizza, with mozzarella cheese; topped with toasted breadcrumbs and chili crunch.

Ingredients

• Roasted Garlic Pesto
• 3-4 oz. Garlic Whole Cloves, peeled
• Olive Oil, divided: a drizzle on the garlic to roast, plus more for the pesto
• Pinch of Kosher Salt, plus more to taste
• 4-6 oz. Fresh Basil Leaves
• 1/3 cup Toasted Pine Nuts
• 1/4 cup Powdered Parmesan Cheese
• Roasted Garlic Pesto Pizza
• 1 Prepared Pizza Dough
• 3/4-1 cup Roasted Garlic Pesto
• 1-1.5 cups Grated Low-Moisture Mozzarella
• Chili Crunch, optional
• Toasted Panko Breadcrumbs, optional

Instructions

Roasted Garlic Pesto

1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2

Spread the garlic cloves on a sheet tray and drizzle olive oil over them, add a pinch of kosher salt and give the sheet pan a little shake to coat the cloves in oil and salt.

3

Pop the tray in the oven and roast for about 10 minutes, until they are beginning to brown. Give the cloves a stir and continue roasting for another 5 minutes or so. When the cloves are toasted and roasted, let them cool for 5-10 minutes.

4

Turn the oven temp up to 450 degrees F, with a pizza stone or steel.

5

Toss the fresh basil leaves in the bowl of a food processor. Add the roasted garlic cloves and 1/3 cup of roasted pine nuts. Pulse the ingredients several times to get a chimichurri-type of consistency.

6

Then add 1/4 cup of powdered parmesan cheese. With the processor running, drizzle in olive oil until you have a fine texture and a smooth pesto. Taste the pesto and add kosher salt if needed.

Roasted Garlic Pesto Pizza

7

Roll, stretch or pull your pizza dough out to about a 12-inch round, on a lightly floured surface. Spread on as much pesto as you like, I used about 3/4 cup. Use the backside of a silicone spatula to evenly spread the pesto, leaving a 1-inch border for the crust.

8

Top the pesto with grated low-moisture mozzarella. Use as much cheese as you like!

9

Bake the pizza on the steel or stone for about 10-12 minutes, until the crust is puffed and golden; and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

10

When the pizza comes out of the oven, enjoy as is – or, brush the crust with olive oil. Sprinkle on toasted panko breadcrumbs and drizzle on some chili crunch.

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