One Potato Pizza, Please

The old-school way of judging a great pizza often involved measuring the thickness of the cheese: More was better. But between the gourmet pizza movement popularized in the ‘80s by Wolfgang Puck and worries about cholesterol and fat that continue into the ‘90s, the traditional thick-crust pizza laden with pounds of sausage and gobs of cheese has lost its dominant role.

In place of an armored wall of meat, these lighter-weight pizzas make intelligent use of vegetables and are a sensible mix of crust and cheese. Because the balance of crust and topping means that each ingredient can be tasted, these pizzas can be every bit as savory and delicious as the heavyweights.

Potato-Cheese Pizza--with sliced potatoes, leeks and modest amounts of goat cheese and creamy blue cheese--has an elegant white-on-white look and a bold, tangy flavor.

As summer progresses, you might substitute fresh sliced tomatoes for the potatoes, or use strips of sauteed green and red pepper, corn kernels, even steamed snow peas. If you want meat, add bits of prosciutto or thinly sliced chicken or turkey sausage.

POTATO-CHEESE PIZZA

1 cup warm water

3 tablespoons olive oil

Dash sugar

1 package dry yeast

2 1/2 cups flour

Salt

1 large new potato

2 leeks, white part only, trimmed and chopped

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary

Freshly ground white pepper

2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

2 ounces Saga blue cheese or other creamy blue cheese, crumbled

Combine 1/4 cup warm water, 1 tablespoon olive oil and sugar in cup. Stir to mix. Stir in yeast and set aside until mixture becomes foamy, about 5 minutes.

Combine 2 1/4 cups flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Stir in yeast mixture and remaining 3/4 cup warm water until combined. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, using part or all of remaining 1/4 cup flour. Place dough in clean bowl. Cover with cloth and let rise in warm place 1 hour.

Cook potato until tender but firm enough to slice easily. Drain and cool. Peel potato and cut into slices 1/4-inch thick. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium skillet. Add leeks and saute over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Set potato and leeks aside.

When dough finishes rising, punch down and roll out on lightly floured board to about 14-inch, 1/4-inch-thick circle. Sprinkle baking sheet with cornmeal and place dough over cornmeal. Brush top of dough with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary. Bake at 400 degrees until crust is light brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Scatter leeks and potato slices over crust, arranging potato slices evenly over top. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Sprinkle with goat cheese and blue cheese. Bake until cheese melts and pizza is hot, 5 to 8 minutes. Cut into 4 wedges. Makes 2 servings.

Note : If desired, all of one cheese can be used. If using blue cheese, select mild one.

Each serving contains about:

1,084 calories; 676 mg sodium; 22 mg cholesterol; 37 grams fat; 156 grams carbohydrates; 32 grams protein; 2.65 grams fiber.

For four servings, each contains about:

542 calories; 338 mg sodium; 11 mg cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 78 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; 1.32 grams fiber.