Todd English has a wonderful Fig Pizza that I tasted at his restaurant in Las Vegas. I also had a very good BLT Pizza at the California Pizza Kitchen in Palm Springs, CA. So I was very surprised when I was not wild about this pizza from Bon Appétit magazine. It is a specialty of a restaurant called Cucina in Woodstock, NY. Possibly it is because I did not make the crust and estimated that my pizza pan was the equivalent of 2 10†pies. So I used ½ the toppings. It is also possible that because I could not make it beginning to end all in one motion that the time lapse produced a pizza that was tasteless and doughy. I also do not have a great oven. All factors considered, I will be out of here soon and should have waited to make this pizza when I had all my toys around me.
Ingredients:
½ T plus 1 t EVOO, divided
1 T minced shallot
1 C dried figs, stemmed, quartered
½ C Marsala
1 T minced fresh rosemary
1 t kosher salt
Pepper
8 oz. fresh goat cheese
2 C arugula
1 pear
For the dough:
1 ½ C all-purpose flour plus more for rolling
1 ½ C bread flour
8 oz. fresh goat cheese
1 ½ T EVOO
Directions:
1. Heat ½ T oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add shallot; stir until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add figs, Marsala, and rosemary, increase heat. Bring to a boil. Add 1 C water, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring often and adding water by T, if too thick, until figs are soft and jam measures 1 ¼ C. About 20 minutes.
4. If making dough. Pulse 1 ½ C all purpose flour, bread flour, 1 ½ T oil, 1 t salt, and l C water in a food processor until dough forms. Divide into 4 pieces. Wrap each in plastic and let rest until soft, 2-3 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
6. Roll out each dough piece on a floured surface to a very thin 10†round. Cover with a kitchen towel.
7. Place 1 dough round on each of 2 baking sheets. Bake for 3-4 minutes to partially cook. Repeat with remaining dough.
8. Spread 3-4 T fig jam over each crust; scatter 2 oz. goat cheese over each. Bake in batches until crust is crisp, 4-5 min.
9. Toss arugula, pear and remaining 1t EVOO in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Top pizzas with salad.
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