Taleggio and Grape Pizza

PHOTO: CALIFORNIA TABLE GRAPES

From: Chef Jonathan A. Fox, La Madia, Chicago. Yield: 1 pizza.

1 recipe pizza dough or 1 ball prepared dough

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded, low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 recipe vin santo-roasted grapes (see below)

1 cup (4 oz.) Taleggio cheese, rind removed, cut into ¼" cubes

Vin Santo-Roasted Grapes:

2 cups red seedless grapes, removed from stems

½ cup vin santo (traditional Italian wine made from dried grapes)

1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped

Preheat oven to 300°F. In medium-sized mixing bowl, toss grapes with vin santo and thyme. Transfer grapes to a roasting pan and roast for 2 hours, removing pan from oven and stirring grapes every half hour.

Set pizza stone in oven on lowest rack and increase heat to 500°F. Allow stone to heat for one hour.

Roll out pizza dough into a thin round (about ⅛" thick and 14" diameter). Arrange shredded mozzarella in an even layer over pizza dough and scatter grapes evenly over cheese. Bake pizza about 5-6 minutes (baking time varies by oven); remove from oven and spread Taleggio cubes evenly over pizza. Return pizza to oven and continue baking until golden brown and crisp, about 5 more minutes.

Cut into slices and serve immediately.