Gluten Free Fresh Mushroom and Herb Pizza

Here is a thin-crusted, New York-style gluten free pizza recipe topped with three varieties of fresh mushrooms- shitake, portobello and porcini plus fresh basil, oregano and smoked provolone cheese. This pizza is "sauceless" because there are a lot of good flavors going on and the sauce would just get in the way.

Ingredients

• 1 large 14-16 inch prebaked gluten free pizza crust (recipe below)
• 1 pound sliced fresh shitake, baby portobello, and porcini mushrooms
• 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 minced clove garlic
• 2 cups shredded smoked provolone cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh , finely chopped basil
• 1 tablespoon fresh, finely chopped oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, optional
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Sauté sliced mushrooms in 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, until tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Brush one large, parbaked gluten free pizza crust with olive oil. (A parbaked crust is partially baked before adding toppings). Spread minced garlic evenly on crust. Sprinkle half of the fresh basil and organo evenly over the crust. Top with smoked provolone cheese.

4. Distribute the sauteed mushrooms evenly over the cheese and drizzle with remaining 1/4 olive oil. Sprinkle remaining basil, oregano and red chili flakes (optional) on top of mushrooms. Sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper (optional).

5. Transfer the topped pizza to a baking sheet or a pizza stone (preheated in the oven).

6. Bake for about 10 minutes or until pizza crust is golden brown.

 (Source: glutenfreecooking.about.com)