Herbed Goat Cheese, Prosciutto, & Arugula Pizza
This fresh and delicious pizza is made with fresh arugula, soft goat cheese with Greek herbs, and crisped prosciutto.
The goat cheese is made by Hug Your Nanny Goat Cheese in Weymouth, Nova Scotia and the arugula was grown right here at Lester’s Farm! Both products are available at Lester’s Farm Market (open daily from 10am to 6pm).
Arugula often goes by other names including rocket, rucola, and roquette. This Mediterranean green has a signature peppery taste and is high in fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin K. Arugula is also rich in folate, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
Did you know? Goat cheese is lower in fat and higher in protein than other varieties of soft cheeses. It is a good source of vitamin A and calcium and contains less lactose than cow’s milk, making it easier to digest for some individuals with lactose intolerance.
Recipe
For this recipe I opted to make my own flatbread pizza crust (I was recently given a flatbread recipe from a friend and have been dying to try it!) but if you are tight on time, or prefer not to make your own dough, the delicious focaccia bread, baked fresh in the bakery at Lester’s Farm Market, could also work as a delicious personal size crust for this pizza!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of fresh arugula
- 3 tablespoons of Greek herb soft goat cheese
- 5 strips of prosciutto dry cured ham
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 pinch of pepper
Dough ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon honey (or sugar)
- 1 teaspoon of yeast (or half of a small packet of yeast)
- ½ to ¾ cup of water (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil (plus an extra two tablespoons to use to coat the dough at various points in the process)
Dough instructions (skip this step if not making your own pizza crust)
If using active dry yeast, first you need to proof (or wake up) the yeast. If using a packet, often you can find instructions on the back of the packet. If from bulk, add 2 tablespoons of lukewarm water to the one teaspoon of dry active yeast. Add ½ teaspoon of sugar and stir. Wait 10 minutes. If the yeast is active it will have bubbled or foamed and doubled in size.
(note: be careful not to use hot water as this can kill the yeast)
Once the yeast is proofed, add the 1 ½ cup of all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of honey. Stir. Add the 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and the ½ cup of room temperature water. Stir using a wooden spoon. The Ingredients should start to form a ball. Add a bit more water if needed to absorb all of the flour into the ball. Once the ingredients form a call, place the ball on a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. Once you finish kneading the dough, lightly coat the outside of the ball with olive oil. Place the ball in a bowl that has also been lightly coated with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel. Set it aside for approximately 90 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
While the dough is rising, set the oven to 400 degrees. Place baking stone or cookie sheet on the middle rack to heat up while the oven is preheating.
Once the dough has doubled in size, use your fist to punch the dough down and release some of the trapped gas. Remove the dough from the bowl and place onto lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it’s around 1/2 inch or 1cm thick. Add a light coat of olive oil on both sides of the rolled out dough and place on pre-heated baking stone or baking sheet. Place in oven for around 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. Remove from oven and leave on baking stone or cooking sheet to slightly cool.
The assembling of the Pizza!
If using pre-baked focaccia or flat bread for your pizza crust, warm the bread in the oven just before you assemble and serve your delicious pizza.
If using your own freshly baked flatbread crust, you will want to start assembling the pizza while the crust is still warm (but no longer hot).
While your flatbread is cooling down, place the 5 strips of prosciutto on a baking sheet and place in oven under the broiler on low heat for around 5 minutes, or until they begin to crisp up. Remove from oven and let them cool down.
Take the 1 cup of fresh arugula, and place in colander or bowl and rinse the leaves well. Place in salad spinner and remove all excess water.
Next using a butter knife or soft spatula, gently spread the 3 tablespoons of Greek herb soft goat cheese over the top surface of the flat bread.
Take the 1 cup of washed arugula leaves and distribute the leaves evenly over the layer of the soft goat cheese.
Next take the strips of crisped prosciutto, and break into smaller (bite size) pieces and distribute over the layer of fresh arugula.
To finish off the pizza, drizzle the last tablespoon of olive oil over the pizza and sprinkle with a pinch of pepper.
Enjoy!!
Did you know? When buying arugula keep in mind that young arugula leaves are oval in shape (similar to spinach) and have a mild nutty flavour. Mature arugula leaves have more lobes and ridges in their appearance, tend to be darker green, and have the signature peppery taste for which arugula is famous. Fresh arugula is quite perishable but you can extend its shelf life by only washing the leaves just prior to use to prevent premature wilting. You can also loosely wrapping your arugula leaves in a damp cloth and store in the vegetable crisper for 3-4 days.
