I don’t know about you, but I love a white pizza recipe.
There’s just something about white sauce on a thicker crust that’s timeless and delicious, and pairs well with the most wide variety of various toppings.
But my favorite combination of toppings for this kind of pizza will always be arugula, prosciutto, and pears.
Why Does This Combo Work?
For starters, if I wanted poached pears on a pizza, I’d be insane to eat it with a tomato sauce base instead of a white pizza sauce.
Take that as you will.
Then, you have the fact that poached pears, prosciutto, and arugula are like the holy Trinity.
Their flavors work so well together, delivering you a bite of pizza that is just unmatched.
Pair that all together with garlic cream sauce and some delicious pizza dough, and you have a combination that’s fit for a king. Or a pizza connoisseur, same thing.
Why You’ll Love This Pizza:
Once you take all of the above mentioned ingredients and combine them with delicious mozzarella cheese and a fresh drizzle of balsamic glaze, you’ll be hooked.
This pizza is the most wonderful combination of sweet and savory that you’ll ever taste, and it holds up nicely on the homemade pizza dough of your choice.
Personally, I love eating this pizza on Roman pizza dough.
I find it to be a lot sturdier than round pizza, and able to withstand all of the toppings nicely.
I brought a whole Mortadella Head Arugula Prosciutto and Pear pizza for my family to try a few years back for our pizza night, and my elderly Italian relatives all said that it was the best pizza they have ever had.
When native Italians that have worked in the catering industry for years say that about a specific kind of pizza, you take them seriously.
And today, you’re going to learn how to make it for yourself at home.
What You’ll Need:
In order to make a delicious Arugula, Prosciutto and Pear pizza, you’ll need a few key ingredients to make this easy recipe the best that it can be.
Ingredients:
Arugula: Fresh raw arugula is all you’re going to need here. You can buy it fresh from your local grocery store or farmer’s market.
Prosciutto: I personally prefer freshly sliced salty prosciutto from the deli, but if you’re strapped for time or don’t have a local deli in the area, you can get this at the supermarket as well.
Pears: I like to freshly poach mine ahead of time. If you need a recipe for the best poached pears without wine, we have you covered!
Garlic Cream Sauce: I might be biased, but I think we have the best recipe there is for this one.
Mozzarella Cheese: This pizza uses low moisture whole milk mozzarella cheese, and I recommend shredding it yourself for best results. Of course, you can always use fresh mozzarella if you’d like.
Fresh Pizza Dough: Again, we recommend using Roman pizza dough, but any other dough works just as well—even store-bought pizza dough.
Balsamic Glaze: This is totally optional, but I feel as though some balsamic drizzle is essential to tying all of the flavors together at the end.
Directions:
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Preheat your oven to 450°.
While your oven is heating, prepare the pizza dough, and lay it out flat over a surface dusted with all purpose flour or semolina flour.
Prepare your pizza over the lightly floured surface, starting with garlic cream sauce, followed by mozzarella pizza cheese and poached pears.
Bake your pizza in the oven in a pizza pan or on a pizza stone or pizza peel for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown and the pizza crust looks finished.
Remove your pizza from the oven, and let it cool for a few minutes. Five minutes should be key here, you don’t want to let it come to room temperature.
Once your pizza has cooled, top it with handfuls of arugula, fresh prosciutto slices, and then finally, a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
Slice it up and serve it fresh, and you’ll have yourself the most perfect pizza you’ve ever tasted.
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FAQs:
Q: I don’t like prosciutto. Is there something similar I could substitute?
A: One thing you could try is substituting the prosciutto with bacon bits. Simply cook the pieces up, break them into tiny little pieces, and sprinkle them over the pizza along with the pears.
The difference here is that you’re going to want to cook the bacon with the pizza, unlike the prosciutto which gets layered on after the fact.
Q: Do I have to add the poached pears?
A: Nope! In fact, this pizza tastes just as delicious without the pears added. Simply eliminate them from the preparation process, cook this pizza as normal, and you’ll be good to go.
You can even eliminate the prosciutto from the cooking process as well, opting for just arugula with this pizza, and it will still taste delicious.
But if this is your first time trying this recipe, I recommend eating it with all of the ingredients. This is my favorite way to enjoy some yummy pizza.
Q: My pizza turned out soggy. What did I do wrong?
A: You might not be cooking it long enough with all of the toppings you’ve added.
If you find that the cheese is melted down perfectly and your pizza is still soggy, try turning up the temperature a little bit higher to ensure a crispy crust.
This style of pizza typically thrives in higher temperatures, so this should fix your issue right away.
Q: What other types of cheese should I add to this?
A: Personally, I’m a big fan of sprinkling goat cheese or blue cheese crumbles over the top of the fresh baby arugula salad. And of course, you can always top everything with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. All three types of cheeses taste so well, especially with the balsamic vinegar glaze.
What To Serve With This:
Wine: Since this is a pizza that features more fresh ingredients, I recommend pairing this with a delicious white wine. Here’s a wonderful guide we have to everyday Italian whites!
Appetizer: You can never go wrong with a bruschetta salad on the side, especially with pizza!
Dessert: Trying to channel your Italian roots? Make this easy Tiramisu recipe. You’ll love it!
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Arugula Pizza Recipe: With Prosciutto And Pears
Ingredients
- 1 batch of your favorite pizza dough
- 1 bag/package fresh arugula
- ¼ lb fresh sliced prosciutto
- 2 cups poached pears
- 1–2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 8 oz garlic cream sauce
- Balsamic glaze to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450°, or as high as it will go.
- Lay your pizza dough out over a floured surface.
- Spread on a layer of garlic cream sauce, followed by the mozzarella cheese.
- Add poached pears on top of the mozzarella.
- Bake your pizza in a pizza pan or on a pizza stone for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust and cheese are both golden brown.
- Remove your pizza from the oven, and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
- Add a generous amount of arugula over the top of the pizza, followed by the prosciutto slices.
- Drizzle with balsamic glaze to finish, and enjoy.
