Let’s be honest. Pizza is really an any-time-of-year meal. But we chose to feature this recipe in the Spring section of the MT Plate in our 2024 Local Food Guide because arugula is one of the first of the greens to become available when the weather starts to warm.
However, the real stars of this show are the Farm-To-Market Pork Bacon, and the three Flathead Lake Cheeses! Here’s a little about these two businesses who make these incredible local ingredients:
Flathead Lake Cheese broke ground in May 2009 and have been creating old-world-style cheese ever since. Visit their website, flatheadlakecheese.com, for their complete list of cheeses, and come down to Polson to visit, sample, and take home a taste of Montana.
Farm-to-Market Pork sells fresh, delicious, high-quality pork and beef raised and processed right on their farm! Visit the Farm-To-Market Pork store and processing facility in Kalispell on weekdays from 9 am to 5:30 pm, or at the Whitefish, Kalispell, and Columbia Falls Farmers Markets! Or buy online at farmtomarketpork.com .
Three Cheese and Bacon Pizza
Ingredients
- Favorite pizza dough recipe or premade dough
- Favorite pizza sauce
- 6-7 strips of Farm-to Market Pork Bacon
- 3 cups Flathead Lake Cheese Doc Arnold’s Notzarella Cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Flathead Lake Cheese Joe’s Hawaiian Shirt Feta
- ½ cup of Flathead Lake Cheese Galiki Gouda, grated and shaved
- 1 cup arugula
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- Drizzle of olive oil
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- Basil for garnish
- Dusting of cornmeal
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 515°F.
- Prepare Toppings: Cut Farm-to Market Pork Bacon into halves or 1-inch pieces and cook until crispy. Slice cherry tomatoes and set aside. Shred the Flathead Lake Cheese Doc Arnold’s Notzarella Cheese and shave the Flathead Lake Cheese Galiki Gouda.
- Shape Dough: Roll out your dough into a 12-inch crust. Sprinkle a sheet pan with cornmeal and place the dough on it.
- Assemble Pizza: Spread pizza sauce on the crust and arrange sliced cherry tomatoes on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes.
- Add Toppings: Remove pizza from the oven and top with Flathead Lake Cheese Doc Arnold’s Notzarella, Flathead Lake Cheese Joe’s Hawaiian Shirt Feta , and Farm-to Market Pork Bacon, and brush the crust with olive oil. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 7-8 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.
- Finish and Serve: Remove pizza from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. In a bowl, toss arugula with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of the Flathead Lake Galiki Gouda grated cheese, and red pepper flakes, if using. Top pizza with arugula mixture, shaved Flathead Lake Galiki Gouda, and garnish with basil. Enjoy!