Deep Dish Pizza with Greens, Ricotta and Lemon Pesto

Elevate pizza night with this sophisticated deep dish pizza recipe from Dan Pelosi (@grossypelosi). A brightly flavored parmesan, lemon and almond pesto is the base, and then ricotta cheese and broccolini are layered on top to create a delicious take on a white pizza. The best part is that the entire recipe is made in the Signature Everyday Pan for easy cleanup.

Lemon Pesto

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup almonds

Deep Dish Pizza

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for top of pizza

12 ounces pizza dough, homemade or store bought

1 cup lemon pesto 

1 cup ricotta cheese

6-8 broccolini stalks

Grated parmesan cheese

Chili flakes

For the lemon pesto:

Place the parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, almonds and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and pulse until smooth and creamy (it will resemble natural peanut butter). Set aside at room temperature until ready to bake the pizza.

For the pizza:

Lightly oil a large, deep sided sauté pan, braiser or Dutch Oven with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place the dough in the pan and gently press it out until it reaches the edges of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let sit in a warm place until puffy, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 500°F.

Remove plastic wrap or towel. Lightly deflate the dough with fingertips, and push dough to the edges and up the sides of the pan. Spread the lemon pesto on top of the dough and dollop the ricotta cheese over the top of the lemon pesto. Lay out the broccolini evenly on top of the cheese and drizzle with a little more olive oil.

Bake on the top rack of preheated oven until dough is cooked through and browned, and cheese is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for about 5-10 minutes before cutting. Serve the pizza topped with additional grated parmesan cheese and chili flakes, if desired.