Friday, June 20, 2008

Constructing the Almost Perfect Pizza

I know, I'm way behind on posting; I still have plenty more from India and a recent trip to Switzerland. I also have some 'material' from a great restaurant in Boston called Toro and a Greek restaurant called The Aegean from right here in Framingham where I live.

But, love is in the air, and tonight was pizza night in Chez One Food Guy. Pizza night in my house started back in February and since then many pizzas have been made in my kitchen. I've tried whole wheat dough and herbed dough, no more though since the plain dough is simply the best. I've made pizzas with spinach, eggplant, chicken, and pepperoni, lots of sauce or a little sauce, and always a blend of Manchego, Pecorino Romano, and sometimes Cordobes - all sheep's milk cheeses.

Tonight was a special night though, I had a great pizza cooking in my head all day and couldn't wait to get home to make it. I stopped at Trader Joe's on my way home to pick up the dough and other necessary ingredients. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, I made a caramelized onion, baby arugula (also known as rocket,) black mission fig and goat cheese pizza. My inspiration for this pizza came from a couple different places, for the arugula and goat cheese, thank you Wednesday Chef, and for the figs, thank you to my good friend Jason in Luzern, Switzerland. He recently made me a salad with fresh figs and now I can't get enough of them; I used dried figs for this pizza. The caramelized onions were all my own. Here is how I made this fabulous pizza.

Black mission figs, caramelized red onion, baby arugula, Trader Giotti's basic pizza dough, Trader Joe's First Lady Reserve unfiltered olive oil, and soft goat cheese (not pictured)

After letting the dough rest on the counter while I caramelized the onions, I stretched it gingerly over the back of my floured knuckles just so it was paper thin, almost to the point of tearing. I lay the dough across a pizza peel dusted with corn meal.


Next, I gently brushed the dough with unfiltered (flavorful) olive oil and spread out the caramelized onions.


On top of the caramelized onions goes a nice thick layer of baby arugula; don't worry, the arugula will wilt down.


I then generously sprinkled on some black mission figs that I quartered

and some soft goat cheese. And topped it all with some kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a good drizzle of the Trader Joe's First Lady Reserve unfiltered olive oil.


Then onto the pizza stone in a 475° oven and ten minutes later...


We have the Almost Perfect Pizza!

You're wondering why it's the Almost Perfect Pizza, right? Well this pizza was certainly delicious. The crust was perfectly thin and crispy. The caramelized onions, arugula, figs and goat cheese were nearly perfect together. But something was missing, just a little something to offset the sweetness of the fig and caramelized onions. The missing piece, I believe, is a little acidity to balance out the sweetness. This pizza as it is has shot to the very top of my pizza menu, and next time I will caramelize the onions with just a touch of aged balsamic vinegar...PERFECTION!

17 comments:

  1. Your pizza looks so~o super yummy. We'll have to wait til it cools down to start making pizza. But for now I'll just drool over yours.

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  2. Why have I never thought of using this ccmbo for a pizza. It's one of my favorite paninis! I'll have to rememdy this fast.

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  3. Will definitely try this. Your ingredients are those for one of my favorite paninis.

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  4. Hi Jeni, thanks! It has fast become one of our favorite pizzas! We've made it a couple times since the first, but I keep forgetting to try it with balsamic!

    Hi Arlene, it was so good! I panini of the same kind sounds great too!

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  5. Anytime you've got arugula and goat cheese, you've got my attention. This sounds delicious! Maybe in addition to or instead of the balsamic vinegar, some thinly sliced fresh tomatoes might do the trick of balancing the sweetness.

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  6. I was thinking balsamic vinegar would be the perfect addition then you mentioned it. This pizza looks and sounds really yummy!

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  7. Hi Terry, I'm with you on the arugula and goat cheese. They are two of my favorite ingredients. I like to spread soft goat cheese on an english muffin or toast instead of cream cheese.

    Hey Eatme, I like the way you think! Thanks for the comment!

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  8. My mission in life to find/eat the perfect pizza. I try all the time and think I'm close but I'm willing to keep trying. Thanks for this idea. I've been playing around with fig, goat cheese and prosciutto brushetta. Next step, pizza baby! Linda @ dishingupfood.blogspot.com

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  9. Hi Linda, your bruschetta idea sounds great, too! I found the trick with this pizza was to get the dough really thin and brush it with olive oil. When it comes off the stone it's nice and crispy! No fold necessary!

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  10. this is some of the best pizza i've ever tasted... and i made it!! thanks to you. :-)

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  11. Hi Anon, I'm so glad you tried the pizza, and loved it! You should try the one I made recently with pear, apple, brie and walnuts, it was also great!

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  12. Greetings. I found this through a Google search - I was trying to find a good way to use some rather flavorless fresh black missiong figs. I was thinking of cooking them down a bit with onions, mixing with a balsamic reduction, and serving over goat cheese on a bit of toasted baguette. Wondered if anyone had done that and had tips. I am a total pizza devotee, however, and this was a terrific find! I will definitely try it. I have a pizza on which I use arugula, and based on that, I have a suggestion. That is: hold off the arugula till the pizza has baked all but, say, 2 minutes. Then toss it on and send the pizza back for the last bit. The arugula will wilt nicely but will not be overdone. Also, I have taken to pre-baking the crust on my stone for 1 1/2-2 minutes before brushing it. Sure makes brushing on the oil easier, and the crust is terrific!

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  13. This looks amazing. I love figs with goat cheese, and I'm on a big caramelized onion kick right now, so this is going to have to find its way into my rotation.

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  14. Thanks for visiting The Food of Love. I will certainly heed your advice about holding off on adding the arugula next time we have this pizza.

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  15. Hi Pixxer, thanks for your tips. I do like the way the arugula cooks down on my pizza - the pizza is only in the oven for a maximum 10 minutes. As for pre-baking the crust, I've tried this technique as well and do not like how the crust comes out in the end, very chewy.

    Hi Clandestinephemera, this is a great pizza, I hope you make it, and enjoy it!

    Hi Arlene, thanks for stopping by. The tip regarding the arugula came from another reader. I suggest adding the arugula with the rest of the toppings - or add it when you take the pizza out of the oven. Either way, enjoy and thanks for reading.

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  16. Hi! I found this page via your comment on Our Best Bites and I have to say this looks AMAZING! I can't wait to try it.

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  17. Hi LovelyMint, thanks for your comment. I'm sure you'll love the pizza! Let me know if you make it.

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