Fig, Gorgonzola, Prosciutto and Arugula appetizer pizza

Fig, Gorgonzola, Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza

I hope everyone's enjoyed a wonderful Christmas, and if you're one of the very lucky ones - you're NOT going into work today?? This guy will be in his office, but only for a short while. Before I go though, I have to tell you about this pizza I made last night, as an appetizer to Christmas dinner!

They say imitation is the fondest form of flattery, right?  Well some time ago (last summer) I tried the fig & gorgonzola pizza at Jamestown Fish - a local spot located shockingly - in Jamestown, RI.  As creative as I like to get in the kitchen - when it comes to pizza, I usually tend more to traditional themes. But I've become quite a fan of blue cheeses and arugula in recent years - and I had to try it - and I loved it.  Fast forward to this week, when a friend invited me to Christmas dinner at her family's house, and said I could bring a cheese & cracker plate... my response was, Ok, but you do know, I will have to expand on that a little.  No sooner had I said it - than re-creating this pizza came to mind.

I couldn't remember the whole thing, I knew there were figs, gorgonzola, and arugula (which a glance at their online menu will provide) but my brain and chef-sense wanted more salt (prosciutto & parmigiano) and some caramelized onion to boot.  Not having fresh fig handy, and going for a salty-sweet theme anyway - I opted to use a good fig spread (Dalmatia.)  Here's how you do it!

Ingredients:

• A good gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbles or block
• Parmigiano Reggiano, I recommend a block, not grated
• (1) med-large sweet white onion - caramelized!*
• (3-4) slices of prosciutto**, sliced in small strips
• (1) bag fresh Arugula
• Pizza crust (any you like - I used a thin, whole wheat)
• A good EV Olive Oil (optional - white truffle oil)

Instructions (this is as easy as it gets):

• PREP the crust by lightly oiling the top-side with the oil you chose
• cover with a thin layer of your caramelized onions
• cover the onions w/ a good layer of crumbled gorgonzola (or bleu)
• cover the pizza w/ 1/2-tsp sized dollops of fig spread (see photo)
• chop the parimgiano in v. small (1/8") chunks - you want those "blasts" of salt
• scatter the parmigiano chunks and the prosciutto strips (don'a be shy!)

• BAKE the pizza according to the needs of your crust (it's all about the crust!)
• If you are using store bought, it may be pretty quick, which is fine.
• The toppings will be hot, melted, and yummy-gooey in 10 min in any case.
• When it is near done (check every 5 min or so) remove from the oven.
• Cover with a layer of arugula, and drizzle with a little more oil
• The White Truffle Oil is a really nice touch here and sure to impress.
• Return to the oven just to wilt and even slightly crisp the edges of the Arugula
• Remove, slice,*** and enjoy!

    *  caramelize the onion properly, google for instructions if unsure
  **  for a pizza such as this, a little thicker sliced (typ of grocery store prosciutto) is Ok
***  and for the love of Pete, please don't be a communist... always cut a round pizza in
      triangular slices, NOT squares!

Thank you for keeping up with Café 146 - I've appreciated all the compliments and am glad some of you have found a few original recipes here that you like - and have hopefully had some fun too.  And of course it's my responsibility to remind everyone not to forget - that to know good food is to be close to God.

À Salut!