Lamb Naan Pizzas

As much as we love cooking, you know I’m all about our local restaurant scene! One of our favorite restaurants in Seattle is a quaint neighborhood Italian bistro called Mioposto. What we ordered the first time became our order every other time we have gone because why mess with perfection? We get the ceci, roasted chickpeas with fried garlic and sage, oven roasted Hood Canal clams with white wine, butter and garlic, served with their housemade oven baked Mio bread (essentially like pizza dough-esque bread for sopping up all the juice), Caesar salad, a perfect rendition of a classic, and, the pièce de résistance, the spring lamb pizza. 

Y’all, I dream about this spring lamb pizza, it’s just that good. This pizza features mozzarella, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, red onion, lamb sausage and a mint and basil sauce on a perfectly charred wood-fired pizza crust. It's a perfect marriage of creamy, spicy and fresh and truly a pizza to remember.

Since this is undoubtedly one of my favorite pizza combos I’ve ever tasted, you know I had to recreate it at home! With a few Hungry Ali twists, of course.

Twist #1 would be the use of naan bread (garlic naan to be exact because you always say yes to adding more garlic) instead of pizza dough. Naan is good pretty much any way you have it, but if you're not using it for homemade pizza then you're seriously missing out on a serious life hack! Trader Joe's makes it super easy with frozen naan that tastes awfully close to the real deal and it can be stored in your freezer to fuel your homemade pizza cravings. Not only does naan make for one tasty, wood-fired-eqsue pizza dough, but it creates perfectly portioned individual pizzas. 

Twist #2 is not so much a twist but a simplification of Mioposto's version which features a basil and mint sauce. Instead of whipping up a sauce as an added step, I leave the herbs in their natural form, because why mess with perfection? The combination of fresh mint and lemony basil paired with spiced lamb is to die for. 

These pizzas are about to become your new favorite, there’s no question about that! Not only are they absolutely delectable, they're simple to make, quick to throw together and they're downright impressive. Just look at them! They were begging for a photo shoot....

Lamb Naan Pizzas

Ingredients

• 6 frozen naan flatbread (I use the garlic variety from Trader Joe’s for an extra garlicky kick!)

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 lb ground lamb

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon coriander

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 2 teaspoons paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoons salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 cup (about) shredded mozzarella

• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped

• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

• 6 oz goat cheese

• 2 tablespoons mint, chopped

• 2 tablespoons basil, chopped

Directions

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add lamb and garlic, breaking up until small pieces to start browning. Add coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper to season. Browning should take 5-8 minutes. 

Meanwhile, prep your naans! Whether you're using a grill or an oven, toast the naans on low heat on the grill or in a 350 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes to warm and soften.

Remove from heat and assemble your pizza. Evenly distribute shredded mozzarella, followed by lamb mixture, small dollops of goat cheese, red onion slices and roasted red pepper pieces. Add to oven or grill on low heat and cook for 10 minutes. Either turn the broiler on for 2 minutes or crank the heat to medium high to crisp up the naans ever so slightly. Remove from heat and immediately top with chopped mint and basil. Enjoy!