Can you tell I bought a truckload of fresh figs this week?
This is my third recipe so far — I can’t resist fresh figs when I first see them in the market. So, we’ve had two versions of salad (with figs of course) and one pizza — I’ve made this pizza numerous times since I first posted about it last year.
One of us, as usual, added some fresh arugula on top and one of passed on that.
Fig, Caramelized Onion and Cheese Pizza
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
cornmeal
about 15 ounces of pizza dough
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
5-6 fresh figs, cut into quarters
2/3 cup mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (or 1/3-1/2 cup crumbled blue type cheese)
arugula, optional
Balsamic vinegar, optional
Preheat the oven to 450F. Preheat a pizza stone if you have one. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over low-medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 15-18 minutes, stirring frequently or until the onions and beginning to turn golden. Add the Balsamic vinegar, stir and cook another 10 minutes or until the onions are soft, well glazed and golden brown. Set aside. Place some cornmeal on a board or on parchment paper and stretch/roll the dough into a circle (Mine was 12-inches but you can make it 11-13-inches depending on how thick you like the crust.) Spoon the ricotta cheese evenly over the dough surface, leaving about 1/2-inch at the edge. Cover the ricotta cheese with the onions. Top with the quartered figs, placing them evenly round the surface. Scatter the mozzarella cheese over the top, then the Parmesan or blue cheese. If you have a pizza stone transfer the pizza to the stone using a pizza peel; or, transfer to a large baking sheet with the parchment paper underneath. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is crispy and browned to taste and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Makes one large pizza