Nectarine, Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza

One of my favorite fringe benefits of working at About is the free pizza we get on the first Tuesday of every month. My desk is strategically located right near the kitchen, so I can always smell when the pizza has arrived, and naturally, that’s my cue to race walk at a professionally acceptable speed to the front of the line.

While my enthusiasm for Pizza Tuesday is slightly less than my enthusiasm for my new favorite book series* or Bagel Thursday (we get free bagels every Thursday morning, and it’s seriously my favorite part of every week. Co-workers have literally sung songs about my love of blueberry bagels on Bagel Thursday), I do love me some free pizza. Because the people at work like to switch up their fun, this month, they swapped Pizza Tuesday for a cocktail-making class and free beer. Needless to say, sometimes I love my job.

But I’m also a world class pain in the boo-tay, so obviously, come this week, I missed my monthly dose of pizza. And though a normal person would have walked to the pizza place on the corner and gotten themselves a big ol’ slice of baked ziti pasta**, I decided I had to make the pizza myself.

My adventures in homemade pizza are pretty lame, starting and ending with this effort so long ago. I’ve still never made my own dough, I don’t have a pizza stone and beyond pepperoni and mushroom, I have very few ideas for toppings. It’s a shame, because while it gets a bad rap, pizza can actually be a robust, healthy meal. Use whole wheat dough, plenty of vegetable toppings, a wee bit of cheese and a little restraint when grabbing slices, and you’ve got a relatively guilt-free dinner that (if using store-bought dough) takes less than 20 minutes to make!

This pizza feels like a salad, if all salads included bright, peppery arugula, warm, sweet nectarines, crisp salty prosciutto and the creamy tanginess that comes from a lightly aged Manchego. (Yes, I’m fully aware that I just sounded like a total food snob there. Sorry I’m not sorry — three-month aged Manchego is my jam.) The cracker-like whole-wheat crust just makes the whole thing a little more portable, which frees up a hand for, you know, an ice-cold beer or two.

*Whether it be a book, a TV show that I’m Netflix-ing or a movie, I like to know what happens (thank you Wikipedia) before I start reading/watching. BUT! Game of Thrones is so good that I refuse to read ahead or start watching the show, in case there are spoilers. I didn’t even look at that Wikipedia link in this post. It’s like I don’t even know who I am.

**This is exactly what you think it is: baked ziti on top of pizza. Pure. Evil. Genius.

Nectarine, Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza
Adapted from two Eating Well recipes

– 1 pound whole-wheat pizza dough

– cornmeal, for sprinkling

– 1 tablespoon olive oil

– 3 tablespoons pizza sauce (I used tomato-basil pasta sauce, since that’s all I had)

– 2 small nectarines, sliced thinly

– 1 ounce prosciutto, torn into small pieces

– 2 ounces Manchego cheese, grated

– 2 packed cups baby arugula

– 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

– freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

1) Preheat the oven to 525°F. Sprinkle cornmeal over a large baking sheet or a pizza stone (I used the back of the baking sheet, so that it would be easier to remove the pizza from the pan.)

2) On a floured surface, roll out the dough until the crust is about 1/4 of an inch thick in the middle and thicker on the sides — I rolled mine out on the baking sheet itself, a) to make sure the size was right, and b) because I don’t have enough space for a “floured surface.” This ultimately means less mess, so I highly recommend it.

3) Once the dough is ready, drizzle the oil over it, then spread the tomato sauce over it. Top with the nectarines, prosciutto and cheese. Bake for 10-14 minutes, checking on the pizza halfway.

4) When it’s ready, remove the pizza from the oven and top immediately with the arugula. Drizzle the balsamic and top with black pepper, then cut into slices and serve immediately.