Hummus Platter Pizza

You've been waiting for the next pizza, right? I know, us too.

Turns out that yet again we are lacking pizza toppings. All this East Coast winter weather is severely cramping our Italian-Market-shopping style and leading to shortages of mozzarella. It was a "what combination of things from our fridge will make good pizza" kind of night.

Our friend JM happened to show up right when we pulled the pizza out of the oven. Lucky him. He is a self-proclaimed "picky" eater, and his reaction was "This is amazing, and I'm not just saying that." He went on to elaborate eloquently about how the unusual addition of cucumbers added just the right freshness or zest or something Idon'treallyrememberwhathesaid.

We then tried to come up with a catchy name. "Mediterranean Sunset" and something with "California" were both contenders. But since I'm writing, I get to decide, and it reminds me of a hummus platter you might get as an appetizer at a restaurant, with pita triangles, bell peppers and cucumbers.

The ingredients:

1. Whole wheat crust, par-baked for crispiness and ease of moving around
2. Thin spread of garlic hummus
3. Dollops of crushed tomato
4. Sliced red bell peppers
5. Sliced baby bella mushrooms
6. Chopped fresh parsley
7. Crumbled feta
8. Grated Parmesan

After a few minutes in the oven, we added some thinly sliced cucumbers, another sprinkle of Parmesan and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. The result was a very healthy, fresh-tasting pizza with a well-balanced combination of flavors.  (Was that how you put it, JM?)

We're currently working on a rating system to self-critique our own pizzas, but JM gives this one 5 out of 5 stars.