Proscuitto Pizza with Chai Vinaigrette
Do you ever want to serve a really fancy dinner but then you remember it’s you cooking it and the only thing you want is pizza? As always, I have you totally covered; this pizza not only looks like a work of art, but tastes amazing too. It can be assembled in about 5 minutes and cooks in around 15 minutes. The best part is that most of the ingredients are available at any grocery store!
Lately I am addicted to the pizza shells from Cob’s bakery, but any pre-made pizza shells or even naan breads will work. The secret ingredient to this particular vinaigrette is my newest find – chai honey which is locally made by the Chai Wallahs and sold in so many places throughout Red Deer. The chai flavour is spicy and fragrant and plays so will with the salty prosciutto and creaminess of the goat cheese.
Pizza
1 large ready-made pizza shell
100g prosciutto ham (found pre-sliced in most grocery store deli sections)
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup grated mozzarella
1 tbsp olive oil
Wedge of fresh parmesan (don’t worry, you’re not going to use the whole thing)
1-2 cups baby arugula
Optional: goat cheese
Vinaigrette
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup orange juice
2 tbsp chai honey (or regular honey if you don’t like the chai flavour)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste
To make:
Preheat oven to 425F. Place shell on a large baking tray and brush on about 1 tablespoon of olive oil – making sure to get all the way to the edges. Sprinkle the mozzarella on the shell and gently lay out the prosciutto; I curled the slices and laid them out so they would get more crispy in the oven. Scatter the thinly sliced red onion and top with a few parmesan curls (I used a vegetable peeler for this) and some blobs of goat cheese if you are into that.
Place your pizza into the oven for around 15 minutes. While that’s cooking, combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar and shake it until combined; take a little taste to see if how much salt and pepper you need – warning: go really easy on the salt because the meat and parmesan are both pretty salty.
In a little bowl, combine a couple handfuls of the baby arugula with a tablespoon or so of the vinaigrette – start little and add more as you go; you don’t want soggy arugula on top of your pizza!
Watch the pizza towards the end of the cooking time; you may even want to broil it for a minute or two to really crisp that prosciutto up. Once cooked, remove pizza to rest on the counter for another five minutes. Add some of the dressed arugula and a few more parmesan curls and expect to receive several “oohs” and “aahs” when you bring this to the table! Serve with additional vinaigrette if desired. Unused vinaigrette can be stored in the fridge for about a week and can be enjoyed on future salads.