Dan’s Margherita Pizza with Crunchy Prosciutto

Finished Pizza - YUM!

Made this last night  - we have been on a home made pizza kick lately!   I twisted the classic recipe a bit with the Prosciutto – to me, pizza isn’t pizza without some form of meat on it!  I made a quick fresh sauce for the base of the pizza by grating a whole tomato on a box grater until just the skin was left, and then straining out some of the liquid.  I added salt, garlic, fresh ground pepper and basil and let it sit for a bit before putting it on the crust.  I used a whole wheat crust ( at my wife’s request), but would recommend regular, since the flavors of this pizza are very subtle, and the wheat crust was a little much for it.  Once again, let me say how much I LOVE my Emile Henry BBQ Stone – you can just build the pizza right on the cold stone, without pre heating it.  Comes out nice and crisp every time.

Add Sauce Base

Well, here are the ingredients:

Base Sauce:

1 large, or 2 small tomato’s, grated on a box grater, down to the skin.  Strain out most of the excess liquid.  Add the following ingredients – these measurements are to taste, so feel free to alter them.  Then let sit for about ½ hour to let the flavors blend.

1 tsp Kosher Salt

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp Oregano

1 tsp dried basil

Pinch fresh ground pepper

Cover With Tomatoes

For the Pizza:

1 pkg Prosciutto, crisped in a small fry pan, and rough chopped when cool

2 – 3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced thin

1 large log of Fresh Mozzarella

3 cloves of garlic, sliced very thin, and rough chopped

10 – 12 large Basil leaves, rolled up like a cigar, then sliced across thinly to make curly strips ( called a Chiffonade cut, a great way to decoratively cut herbs)

3 tbs flour or corn meal

Directions:

Flour a flat surface, and roll out the crust to about a 12” round using flour as needed.  Brush the bottom with olive oil, and pre heat pizza stone ( unless you are using the EH one that I have) as directed. 

Ready for the Grill!

 While stone is heating, spread base sauce thinly over crust.  Cover with thinly sliced tomatoes.  Cover tomatoes with sliced garlic, basil and Prosciutto crisps. I would add a good pinch of Kosher salt over the whole thing at this point to bring out the flavor of the tomatoes.  Cover whole crust with fresh Mozzarella slices.

Transfer pizza to hot stone with a peel, and cook at 400 for about 10 – 12 minutes, or until crust crisps and cheese starts to bubble. 

Serve with a nice light red or Pinot Grigio, and enjoy!