Southern Greens Pizza

• your favorite pizza crust
• extra-virgin olive oil (I use unfiltered 100% Italian for this)
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 2 strips good quality, thick-cut bacon
• 6 large collard green leaves, center ribs removed, leaves washed and chopped
• 3.5 ounces buffalo or regular mozzarella (but good quality!), thinly sliced
• 2 oven roasted plum tomato halves, sliced
• pecorino for grating
• Maldon sea salt for seasoning if need be

1. Whether you're using a grill or the oven, preheat it to hot (about 450u0b0 ambient temp in the grill; 495u0b0 for convection oven*). If you're using a pizza stone, remember to put it on or in at this time (NOT when the grill/oven is already hot).rnRoll out your crust on a piece of parchment. Drizzle your half with the olive oil, and then use your fingers to rub it in evenly. Sprinkle with the red pepper flakes and garlic slivers.
2. In a skillet, cook your bacon until about halfway or 3/4 of the way done. You don't want it to burn later. Remove and drain on paper towels. Pour out most of the bacon drippings, leaving just enough in the skillet to coat the bottom. Return the pan to medium-high heat, and add the chopped collards. Stir to coat with drippings and cook for 3-4 minutes. In the meantime, chop the bacon (I remove any egregiously sized fat chunks). When the greens have started to soften and wilt, throw the bacon crumbles back in, toss, and remove the skillet from heat. Don't overcook them.
3. Head back to your prepared pizza crust and atop the pepper flakes and garlic slivers, place the tomato and mozzarella slices. Then spoon your greens and bacon mixture evenly over all that.
4. If you're grilling, use a pizza peel to put the pizza (parchment and all) on the hot stone, and cook 7 minutes. rnRemove from the stone and grate fresh pecorino over the top. Season with some Maldon if you think it needs it.
5. *When we use our convection oven without the stone, we prebake our crust for 7-8 minutes on parchment. Then we remove the crust from the parchment, dress it with our toppings and return to the oven to cook for another 11 or so minutes.rnWhen using our oven and the stone, we don't prebake.rnSorry if this is confusing...many iterations over here. :)

your favorite pizza, extravirgin olive oil, red pepper, garlic, bacon, green leaves, buffalo, tomato halves, salt

Taken from food52.com/recipes/16053-southern-greens-pizza (may not work)