For the Love of...: ...Duck Confit, Foie Gras and Morel Mushroom Pizza

This pizza was created for the YYC Pizza Week 2015 Blogger Challenge and it's a fantastic one at that.  It is our opinion that you can never have enough duck; enter the 'Duck Duck Deuce' pizza. This doubly decadent duck creation is the perfect way to herald in the cooler months.  It features earthy morel mushrooms, ricotta, tender duck confit and duck rillete-foie gras quenelles atop a foie gras spread.  The sweet and tangy fig-balsamic reduction and fresh pea shoots balance out the richness.  This luxurious pizza is surprisingly easy to re-create as we document below.

YYC Pizza Week is an annual fundraiser for Calgary Meals on Wheels where restaurants across the city enter into a friendly competition for best pizza in several categories.  We have submitted our "lucky" duck pizza in hopes of victory. Please visit the YYC Pizza Week website for full details and vote for us!

Ingredients (Yields approximately two 10" pizzas)
-Duck confit (see our recipe here)
-1 package duck foie gras or foie gras/rillette
-1 package duck liver pate or foie gras pate
-200 g of dried morel mushrooms
-1/2 cup ricotta cheese
-1/2 cup pea shoots
-3 tsp fig jam
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
-Pizza dough (see our thin crust pizza recipe)
-3 tbsp melted butter
-Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Rehydrate the morels by placing them in 1 cup of lukewarm water for 45 minutes.  Once rehydrated, slice the larger mushrooms in half.  Fry the morels in 1 tbsp of butter until tender (you can add 2-3 tbsp of the liquid from rehydrating them to ease the cooking process).

2.  In a small saucepan, combine the balsamic vinegar and fig jam and simmer over medium-low heat until the mixture reaches a consistency of syrup (approximately 20 minutes).  Set aside and cool to room temperature.

3. Preheat oven and pizza stone to 425 F.

4. Roll out pizza dough on pizza peel to approximately to 10".  Dock the dough with a fork, leaving a one inch border for the crust to rise.  Brush it with melted butter and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Bake the dough until the edges are a light golden brown.  Cool the crust for 5-10 minutes.

6.  Spread the foie gras/duck live pate on the crust.  Add pieces of duck confit, ricotta cheese and morel mushrooms.  Bake in the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese and warm the toppings.

7.  Remove the pizza from the oven and using two teaspoons make one quenelle for each slice of pizza (we made six).  Scatter on top the pea shoots and generously drizzle the fig-balsamic reduction over the entire pizza.

8.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Let us know in the comments if you try this pizza out.  What is your favourite pizza?  Also, don't forget to vote for us on the YYC Pizza Week website and check out which restaurants are participating!