I believe that there are certain produce items that are worth waiting for until they are in season, one of them being fresh figs. Around late August through September these luscious buttery fruits are ripe and plentiful. They are great in a wide range of dishes: I like to have them with breakfast in my yogurt, on top of a grilled baguette with ricotta and honey, pureed into jam…the list goes on and on. But my absolute FAVORITE way to eat them is on top of a crispy pizza with salty prosciutto, blue cheese, peppery arugula, and balsamic glaze. This is…my dream meal. The combination of sweet, savory, and spicy is enough to send your taste buds into a tailspin. You’ll be amazed at how delicious this pizza is. I know I am definitely going to be making this a few more times before my darling figs go back out of season!
Adapted from Epicurious.
- 1 1lb ball of pizza dough, or 1 pre-made crust
- 2 cups crumbled blue cheese
- 6 fresh figs, quartered
- 2-3 TBSP of balsamic glaze
- 1 6oz pkg of sliced prosciutto, sliced in half horizontally
- 2 cups arugula
- olive oil cooking spray
- Heat your grill on high heat if grilling, or preheat your oven to 450 degrees if you’re baking your pizza. If you’re are going to bake the pizza, I recommend getting a pizza stone if you don’t have one. It makes the crust much more crispy and restaurant like! If using fresh pizza dough, flour your clean work surface and roll the dough into a 12×10 inch rectangle. This by no means has to be perfect as you can see by the shape of my pizza! When your dough is rolled out, spray generously with olive oil spray and transfer oil side down to your hot grill. While that side is grilling spray the other side with olive oil as well. GENTLY flip the pizza after about 5 minutes (depending on your grill) and grill the other side for another 5 minutes.
- After 5 mintues, remove the pizza crust to a baking sheet and turn your grill to low or your oven to 200 degrees. Sprinkle the blue cheese all over the crust, gently smearing some of it to make a base. Evenly place all of the quartered figs on the pizza and drape the sliced of prosciutto evenly around the pizza as well. Return the pizza to the grill and shut the lid or return to the oven for a few minutes, just until the toppings are warmed throughout.
- Remove the pizza to the baking sheet and top with the arugula and drizzle with the balsamic glaze. Slice into pieces and serve!
