This recipe came about as a result of all of the veggies that I rescued about a week ago from the first freeze of the season. I have red, yellow, green and purple tomatoes residing on my counter, and beans, cucumbers, mini eggplants and peppers in my fridge. They are on the small side, and I wasn't sure what I would do with them until last night, when I decided to put some of them to good use. Make your own pizza night!
I had an idea of making a caramelized vegetable pizza with crispy prosciutto, and roasted garlic. First, I sliced fairy tale eggplants, and spread them on a baking sheet with a few cloves of garlic, and some whole tomatoes. I drizzled them with olive oil, and added a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, thyme, salt, and pepper and roasted them in the oven until they were golden brown.
Once these were brown, I started to assemble my pizza. I stretched out fresh dough on an oiled pizza pan, and sprinkled it with olive oil, chopped garlic, and thyme. I added a layer of crushed tomato, added salt, pepper and freshly grated parmesean. I had baked a few pieces of prosciutto di parma earlier in the day to make an italian style prosciutto bacon...which was delicious. I decided that these smokey, crunchy bits would be great with the roasted veggies on the pizza. When crisped like bacon, they have a flavor that tastes smokier than regular prosciutto.
I tore some fresh basil leaves, and added the roasted veggies in addition to sliced marinated roman artichokes. I covered them with another layer of fresh parmesean.
Next, I sliced some fresh mozzerella and layered it on top of the other ingredients. Finally, I finished the pizza with olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper, and baked at 450 degrees until golden brown.
I have found that if I bake the pizza on the lower rack for the first few minutes, the crust becomes nice and crisp, I then transfer the pizza to the top rack for the final few minutes of baking to get the cheese brown and bubbly.
Served along with the pizza, I decided to use a few other harvested garden ingredients to assemble a fresh, colorful salad.
Mixed greens, cucumber, yellow brandywine tomatoes, fennel fronds, chives, and purple carrots sprinkled with gray salt, and a fresh vinaigrette make this the perfect compliment to the smokey and rich veggie prosciutto pizza.
Enjoy. Mangia!
