Pizza Pizza Pizza

My mom's birthday is coming up. Because I love cooking for the people I love, I invited her to dinner, along with my dad and my brother. In trying to formulate a menu that wouldn't involve too many added ingredients, I decided to make pita pizzas.





I made a pizza with roasted garlic and eggplant with fresh mozzarella, one with fennel, goat cheese and oranges, (both recipes found here), and one with roasted figs and prosciutto with aged provolone and a balsamic reduction.


The fig pizza was very yummy. I don't even really like red meat, and I liked this. Roasting the figs brought out the sweetness that was so well complemented by the saltiness of the prosciutto. The aged provolone had a nice but understated bite to it that really tied everything together nicely, and the balsamic reduction add a depth of flavor that took this pizza from good to amazing! Of course, it also meant we had appetizers made out of the pizza left overs: a blob of goat cheese on top of a roasted fig and wrapped in a paper-thin slice of prosciutto. Of the three, this was Psycling's favorite pizza.



Pita Pizza with Roasted Figs, Prosciutto, and Balsamic Reduction
(Makes 2 pizzas)
7-10 figs, quartered
2 pocketless pitas
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 oz. aged provolone, shaved (a pecorino or good parmesan would also work here)
1/4 c. thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1-2 Tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Place quartered figs (cut side up) in roasting pan, and roast at 425 for abot 12 minutes, until juicy.
3. Brush pitas with 1 Tbs. each of olive oil. Sprinkle heavily with shaved cheese. Sprinkle about 1 Tbs. of chopped prosciutto over each pita. Arrange figs (cut side up) on pita, and sprinkle with remaining prosciutto. Sprinkle with herbs.
4. Heat balsamic vinegar in small saucepan. Boil until reduced to about 1/4 c. Drizzle 2 Tbs. of reduction over each pizza.
5. Bake pizzas at 425F for about 8-10 minutes.

As for our dessert...well, you'll just have to wait until the October Darin Bakers post on the 29th.