I Miss Pizza Luce: Baked Potato Pizza

Let me share an important lesson I have learned in life:

You Can't Replace Food

When you move or a favorite restaurant closes you can find new foods to love, but you can never replace what you have lost. You will always remember those dishes. Always want them.

I learned a new one this week:

SOMETIMES (the sometimes is important) you can recreate them

I moved from Minneapolis to San Diego. I ate out A LOT, so there are a lot of foods I miss and I can't even come close to fitting all of them in on any given visit. One place that I will always miss is Pizza Luce. Their food, all of it, was delicious. Pasta, pizza, sandwich's, dessert. And they DELIVERED. But of all their super duper good items the one I ordered the most, the one I miss, the one I cannot replace is the Baked Potato Pizza.

Really good pizza crust topped with mashed potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, cheese, and then spread some sour cream on it when you eat it – it's amazing. So I decided to try and make it myself.

I'm not gonna lie, the first time did not work. But I got it. So let me share.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Mashed potatoes (about 1lb. If you are making them just for this)

1 cup broccoli

½ cup chopped tomato

1 cup shredded cheese, I like cheddar for this

your favorite pizza dough

Sour Cream for topping

How To:

Make your favorite pizza dough, or take it out of the package if your scared of yeast like me. I bought mine at Trader Joe's. Don't judge me, I make pie crust.

Roll out to about 12”, building up the edge a bit for the crust. Poke holes all around the middle with a fork.

Bake as directed until the center just starts to turn golden brown. I really recommend using a sheet with holes in the bottom or a baking stone if you want a crispy bottom. And check it about half-way through. If the holes baked closed and your crust is all puffed up, poke it a few more times with a fork.

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli 10-12 min until it is soft.

When the crust is done spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the center.

If you need to make some, a basic recipe is fine. I simply diced my potatoes and boiled until soft, then mashed with 2 Tbsp sour cream and a couple splashed of milk until they were smooth and creamy.

Sprinkle broccoli and tomatoes over the potatoes.

Cover everything with cheese.

Continue baking until the cheese is melted, about 10-15 minutes.

I might not be remembering the real thing correctly, it has been over a year since I last had Pizza Luce's Baked Potato Pizza, but this really hit the spot for me. This is one less food I have to miss and I couldn't be happier with the results.