Caper + Cheese Pizza

Five summers ago my friends Lindy and Stephanie and I took a little break from our strenuous jobs in small town France and booked it to Amsterdam for a weekend to check out the scenery and the museums and stuff like that.  Shortly after we disembarked the train and found our hostel, we set out for food.  The only things I really remember about the restaurant we found was that it was near the train station and I had a pizza with cheese and tons of capers.  At the time I thought the volume of capers they dumped on my pizza was slightly obscene, but lately I can't get enough of the salty little suckers and I've been craving a caper-dotted pizza.  I couldn't tell you what kind of pizzas my cohorts ate or if they even ate pizzas or how good the crust was or what kind of cheese was on the pizza.  All I remember is the capers.  The hazy memory is likely due to the fact that we were in Amsterdam and I was stoned out of my gourd.  Just kidding!  That came later in the weekend.  Still kidding, Mom and Dad!  

Anyway, I recreated the caper pizza a few nights ago, and it was delicious.  I used a combination of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, and instead of a sauce I used a garlic-infused olive oil.  Next time I might use a red sauce to make it more pizza-like, as the garlicky olive oil made it slightly more akin to garlic cheese bread.  I have nothing against garlic, cheese, or bread, though, so I thoroughly enjoyed my creation.  

Caper + Cheese Pizza

Pizza dough

3-4 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup grated mozzarella

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 tbsp capers

To make the garlicky olive oil, heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add the garlic and let it cook for just a few minutes or until fragrant.  Turn off the heat and set the oil aside.  

Roll out the pizza dough onto a pizza peel or pan dusted with flour or cornmeal.  Brush the olive oil over the entire crust (or red sauce if you're going that route).  Spread the cheeses over the crust leaving a 1/2" border.  Sprinkle on the capers.  Be as liberal as you want to be with the capers.  I used about a tablespoon, and I kind of wish I would have used more. 

Bake on a pizza stone or pan at 450 for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is browned to your liking.  

Mine ended up looking like the surface of the moon and tasting somewhat like Domino's cheese bread, although my version was slightly refined with the addition of capers and made by me instead of a stoned 16-year-old.