Fig and Prosciutto Pizza

If you don't go to the Willimas-Sonoma web site to look for recipes, then maybe you should.  That is if you can't find it from Bitchy.  Here is perfect meal to pair with wine.

Here, sweet and salty ingredients come together to create a fantastic pizza topping. To make the fig preserves easier to spread, warm them briefly. The recipe was created for the Breville pizza maker. To bake the pizza in a standard oven, place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Roll out the dough as directed below, but don’t prick it with a fork. Add the toppings and bake on the pizza stone for 10 to 12 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 batch thin-crust pizza dough (see related recipe at left)
• 1/3 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) fig preserves
• 2 oz. (60 g) prosciutto, roughly torn into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces
• 3/4 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) crumbled ricotta salata cheese
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

Directions:

In a nonstick fry pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 18 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool to room temperature.

Preheat a Breville pizza maker on the preheat setting for 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough into a 10-inch (25-cm) round. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork. Transfer the dough to a floured pizza peel. Spread half of the fig preserves over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch (12-mm) border uncovered. Top with half each of the caramelized onions, prosciutto and cheese.

Transfer the pizza to the pizza maker. Bake on the classic setting according to the manufacturer’s instructions until the crust is crisp and the cheese is lightly browned, 10 to 11 minutes.

Using the pizza peel, transfer the pizza to a cutting board and sprinkle with half of the thyme. Preheat the pizza maker again, assemble the remaining pizza and bake. Cut the pizzas into slices and serve immediately. Makes two 10-inch (25-cm) pizzas.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen

Rustic Onion Tart with Olives, Capers, and Anchovies

If you like strong pungent flavors, then this tart is for you.  As far as the anchovies, don't let them turn you away from this tart.  The anchovies veritably melt into the dish and there is just a hint, JUST A HINT, to add depth to the topping.  I sneak in anchovies in many of my seafood stews and no one is the wiser.  I remember my husband and I ordering pizza at Lake Maggiore in Italy.  I ordered a Mediterranean pizza which was simply pizza dough, tomato sauce anchovies.  He couldn't watch me eat it.  But for me it was yummy.  And so is this.  From Fine Cooking magazine: 

1 lb. homemade or store-bought pizza dough, thawed if frozen 
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
2 lb. yellow onions (about 4 medium), halved through the root and thinly sliced crosswise (see below) 
Kosher salt 
1 large clove garlic, minced 
4 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped 
1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme 
All-purpose flour, as needed 
1 Tbs. capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped 
15 Kalamata or Niçoise olives, pitted and slivered 

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Position a rack in the center of the oven, set a pizza stone on the rack, and heat the oven to 450°F. (If you don’t have a pizza stone, set a rimmed baking sheet upside down on the rack to serve as a baking platform.) Let the pizza dough come to room temperature.
Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbs. of the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the onions are golden and softened, about 10 minutes. Make a space in the skillet and add the minced garlic. Let sizzle until fragrant, then stir into the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, to blend the flavors, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Remove from the heat.

In a 1-quart saucepan over low heat, heat the remaining 3 Tbs. oil with the anchovies and thyme. Cook, stirring and breaking up the anchovies with a wooden spatula until they’re dissolved, about 1-1/2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Cut the pizza dough in half. Working with half at a time on a lightly floured surface, use your fingers to flatten and stretch it. Then, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 9x13-inch rectangle (rounded corners are fine). If at any time the dough begins to shrink back, let it rest for 10 minutes and then roll again. Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment. Brush the dough with half of the anchovy oil, then spread with half of the onion mixture. Sprinkle half of the capers and olives evenly on top. Slide the parchment and dough onto a pizza peel (or an inverted baking sheet), then slide the parchment and dough onto the hot pizza stone (or baking sheet). Bake until golden-brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Prepare the second tart while the first cooks.
Remove the first tart from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Bake the second tart. Let the tarts cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 320; Fat (g): 13; Fat Calories (kcal): 120; Saturated Fat (g): 1.5; Protein (g): 13; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 7; Carbohydrates (g): 38; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 1.5; Sodium (mg): 1490; Cholesterol (mg): 20; Fiber (g): 3;

photo: Scott Phillips

From Fine Cooking 121 , pp. 49

December 19, 2012