Date night meets pizza night
This Truffled Potato Pizza with Ricotta and Taleggio is fancy date night meets pizza night. The base is topped with white truffle oil and whole milk ricotta cheese, then layered with creamy and rich Taleggio cheese that melts into paper-thin layers of Yukon Gold potatoes. The potatoes gently blister and furl as they bake, resulting in a tender top with lovely crisp edges. A sprinkle of Maldon salt flakes and fresh chives, tarragon, and Italian parsley finish this cheesy beauty.
Let's talk Taleggio
Taleggio is a semi-soft, washed-rind, smear-ripened cheese named after Val Taleggio, in the Italian region of Lombardy. The crust is thin and edible and the flavor is mild, fruity, and buttery, with a slightly tangy finish. I love to add it to this Truffled Potato Pizza for a bit of extra creamy indulgence as it melts beautifully underneath the potatoes.
The best ricotta is thick ricotta
I prefer to use the thickest whole milk ricotta I can find for this dish so that it stays rich and creamy after baking, but not all ricotta is created equally. If you can scoop your ricotta and it holds its shape fairly well, it’s perfect. If your ricotta doesn’t hold its shape when scooped and is a little on the thin side, I suggest you strain some of the excess liquid using a cheesecloth-lined strainer for atleast 5 minutes. A pinch of salt stirred into the ricotta can also greatly help disgorge some of the excess liquid when straining.
Prepping the potatoes in advance for lovely crisp edges
Prepping the potatoes is easy, but needs to be done ahead of time for best results. Because the potatoes are layered across multiple layers of soft cheese, they won't end up crisp like traditional chips, but should keep their shape and produce lovely crisp edges as they curl up in the oven. I suggest prepping your potatoes while your dough is still rising to expedite your pizza assembly later.
- Scrub the potatoes with a produce brush under cold water to get rid of any dirt and debris clinging to the skin. I prefer to use a waxy Yukon Gold potato for this recipe, so there is no need to peel the skin from this variety, they just need a good scrub.
- Slice the potatoes very thinly. Though you can probably *technically* do this with a sharp knife and a *very* patient hand, I prefer to use a mandoline like this one, set to its lowest thickness setting for easy paper-thin potato slices of equal thickness. They should be so thin that they are semi-sheer and slightly flexible.
- Soak the sliced potatoes in cold water for a minimum of 15-minutes -- though 30-minutes or more is best. Transfer the sliced potatoes to a large bowl and cover with cold water. This will help rinse off any excess starch and help the potato crisp up once baked.
- Drain the water from your soaking potatoes. Rinse the potatoes to remove any clinging starchy water, drain them, and pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel. I find that the easiest way to do this is to lightly toss the potatoes by hand as you pat them with the towel to remove as much of the liquid as possible without being precious about drying each one individually. A wet potato will just steam rather than crisp so the drier the potatoes the better.
WHAT ABOUT THE PIZZA CRUST?
I prefer to use this Easy Same-Day Pizza Dough recipe to make this Truffled Potato Pizza with Ricotta and Taleggio, but if you have a preferred pizza crust recipe of your own or want to grab some pre-made dough from the store, feel free to use those as well.
WHAT TEMPERATURE IS BEST TO BAKE PIZZA AT?
Your aim is a perfectly golden crust and nicely caramelized toppings, so the hotter the better. Many professional pizzerias keep their ovens heated to 800 degrees F or higher, but most home ovens only reach temperatures between 500-550 degrees F so this recipe is created with those constraints in mind. I bake my pizzas at 500 degrees F / 260 degrees C and get wonderful results. If your oven tops out at 450 degrees F / 232 degrees C, I have tested that temp many times over as well and it works well, though you’ll want to plan on a few extra minutes in the oven, especially if your pie is piled high with toppings.
REHEATING PIZZA LEFTOVERS
It would be cliche if I made a joke about leftovers and pizza right now, so we’ll just skip that and assume you didn’t eat the entire pie for a moment. My two favorite methods for reheating pizza so it retains its crisp crust while remelting the cheese is in the oven or in a cast-iron pan on top of the stove.
Oven method: Bake on a sheet pan at 350 F / 175 C for 10 minutes or until pizza has reached your desired level of warmth and crispness.
Stovetop method: Set pizza in a cast-iron pan over medium-low heat. Allow to cook until the crust has reached your desired level of crispness. If the cheese isn’t melted enough for your taste you can add a few drops of water to the pan (away from the pizza) and cover the pan for a minute or two to allow the steam to melt the cheese further.
WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?
- A cutting board
- A chef’s knife
- A large prep bowl + a small prep bowl
- A collander
- A kitchen towel
- A baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- A kitchen scale or measuring cups (for less precise measurements)
- Measuring spoons
- A rolling pin (only if you prefer an evenly thick pie) otherwise your hands are your best tool
- A spoon or spatula (to spread the ricotta)
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Truffled Potato Pizza with Ricotta and Taleggio
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 53 minutes
- Yield: 1 large pizza 1x
- Category: Mains, Pizza
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This Truffled Potato Pizza with Ricotta and Taleggio is perfect for a fancy date night in or a classic pizza night tradition.
Ingredients
- ½ recipe Easy Same-Day Pizza Dough
- 8 oz (about ½ cup) thick whole milk ricotta cheese*
- 2 tbsp white truffle oil
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
- 7 oz / 200 g Taleggio cheese, thinly sliced into 1-inch squares
- 185 g (about 2 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes
- ½ tsp Maldon salt flakes, plus more as desired
- 2 tsp fresh chives, chopped
- 2 tsp fresh tarragon, chopped
- 2 tsp fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Because the potatoes need to soak, I suggest prepping your potatoes while your dough is still rising to expedite your pizza assembly later
- Scrub the potatoes with a produce brush under cold water to get rid of any dirt and debris clinging to the skin. I prefer to use a waxy Yukon Gold potato for this recipe, so there is no need to peel the skin from this variety, they just need a good scrub.
- Slice the potatoes very thinly. Though you can probably *technically* do this with a sharp knife and a *very* patient hand, I prefer to use a mandoline like this one, set to its lowest thickness setting for easy paper-thin potato slices of equal thickness. They should be so thin that they are semi-sheer and slightly flexible.
- Soak the sliced potatoes in cold water for a minimum of 15-minutes -- though 30-minutes or more is best. Transfer the sliced potatoes to a large bowl and cover with cold water. This will help rinse off any excess starch and help the potato crisp up once baked.
- Once your pizza dough has risen, preheat your oven to 500 degrees F / 260 degrees C and set a baker’s half sheet to the side.
- Shape your dough. If you prefer a classic pie-shape with a thicker crust compared to the center of your dough, I suggest hand-stretching your dough. If you prefer your pizza to be an even thickness, I suggest rolling your dough out with a rolling pin.
- If you are hand-stretching your dough:
- I like to rub a small amount of olive oil into my hands first; this allows me to shape the dough easier without it ripping accidentally from friction.
- Press the dough down with the palm of your hand into a disk shape, then use your fingertips to gently press down on the dough disk, further flattening it.
- To further extend the dough, I prefer to press one palm on top of one side of the dough and with the other hand lift the alternative side of the dough and gently work the dough outward, pulling very gently with the tips of my oiled fingers (like a very discrete “come hither” motion) to slowly stretch the dough out. Rotate slightly and repeat until the dough is shaped and stretched to your liking. If you find that the dough starts to snap back or is beginning to tear, allow the dough to relax for a minute or two before proceeding again. Transfer your stretched dough to a sheet of parchment paper.
- If you are using a rolling pin:
- I prefer to place my dough between two sheets of parchment paper to avoid the dough sticking to my rolling pin, but if you prefer you can also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough ball as well as wiping some over your rolling pin by hand to prevent sticking instead. Once the dough has been rolled to your preferred size and shape, peel the top layer of parchment paper off (if using). The bottom layer that the dough is resting on can be utilized for your baking sheet. If you find that the dough starts to snap back or is beginning to tear, allow the dough to relax for a minute or two before proceeding again.
- If you are hand-stretching your dough:
- Transfer your shaped dough to the reserved baking sheet.
- In a small bowl combine the ricotta cheese, white truffle oil, Kohser salt, and cracked black pepper. Spread over the top of the pizza dough and using the back of a spoon spread the mixture out evenly over the dough.
- Top the ricotta mixture with the sliced Taleggio cheese, arranging it so that it is evenly dispersed across the pie with roughly equivalent space in between.
- Drain the water from your soaking potatoes. Rinse the potatoes to remove any clinging starchy water, drain them, and pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel. I find that the easiest way to do this is to lightly toss the potatoes by hand as you pat them with the towel to remove as much of the liquid as possible without being precious about drying each one individually. A wet potato will just steam rather than crisp so the drier the potatoes the better.
- Top the pizza with the potato slices, slightly overlapping each one to fully cover the pizza. At this point, many of the soaked and dried potato slices will have "popped" and rounded so they do not lie flat. Just do your best to cover the pizza and don't worry about making them lie perfectly flat. Sprinkle the potatoes with Maldon salt flakes.
- Bake for 18-24 minutes or until the crust has reached your preferred level of crispness and the potatoes are starting to char slightly at the edges. I find that pizzas that have a thinner topping layer take less time to bake and heavier-topped pizzas generally take a bit longer to bake so watch your pizza closely after the 18-minute mark and adjust as desired.
- Once removed from the oven top the pizza with the chives, tarragon, and parsley, slice, and serve warm.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Ricotta: I prefer to use the thickest whole milk ricotta I can find for this dish so that it stays rich and creamy after baking, but not all ricotta is created equally. If you can scoop your ricotta and it holds its shape fairly well, it’s perfect. If your ricotta doesn’t hold it’s shape when scooped and is a little on the thin side, I suggest you strain some of the excess liquid using a cheesecloth-lined strainer for atleast 5 minutes. A pinch of salt stirred into the ricotta can also greatly help disgorge some of the excess liquid when straining.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼th of the pizza
- Calories: 635
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 970 mg
- Fat: 34 g
- Saturated Fat: 16 g
- Carbohydrates: 51 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg
Pri says
Hi! A couple of questions! I'm Canadian and I can only find Taleggio DOP. Would that be an issue? I don't know if there's a difference between what you use and this! And how important is it to use Maldon salt flakes? Does it make a very big difference if I use pickling salt?
Excited to try this recipe, thank you!!
Jenni says
Pri, DOP is a mark of quality assurance that production methods, aging and storage of the cheese meet the strict guidelines for certification so yes, that is the correct cheese to use! I would personally not substitute the Maldon salt flakes for pickling salt though. The size of the pickling salt grain is significantly smaller than flaky sea salt so you would be oversalting the pizza significantly if you used the same measurement. Maldon is just a brand that offers flaky/flaked/finishing sea salt, but you can use any other brand you prefer. If you prefer to use a smaller grain of salt, I would significantly decrease the amount used so you don't oversalt the pizza.
Rebecca Swanson says
I've been dying to make this but had a hard time finding taleggio. I knew it absolutely needed taleggio and I was right. It's pretty fantastic. And super simple, if you have a good store made crust. I had truffle salt, not oil, so made an adjustment. Will absolutely make again.
Jenni says
Rebecca, I'm so glad you enjoyed this Taleggio pizza and happy to hear that the truffle salt worked as a substitution. Thanks for your comment!