Fig and Speck Pizza

My mother grew up in an Italian-American family in Brooklyn. Gran Fran, my mother, has for all sorts of recipes, both old and new. Her favorites were passed down from her Nonna (the typical Italian grandma) and her mother. In turn, over the years, she has passed along her considerable collection of recipes and food facts to all of her children and now her grandchildren.

Recently, I asked Gran Fran about the difference between speck and pancetta. She told me speck is more like a black forest ham, cured, whereas pancetta is raw and needs to be cooked. She then shared this Fig and Speck Pizza recipe with me.

There are a lot of ingredients here, but it's a simple process to put the whole thing together. I bought pizza dough since I've never had much luck with making my own. The fun part comes when you spread everything out and grate that final sprinkling of parmesan over the top.

Have fun with this and enjoy your Fall!

recipe courtesy of Fran Claro of The Italian Pantry.

FIg and Speck Pizza

Ingredients:

• Dough for 1 pizza crust, store-bought or homemade
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta, well drained
• 1/2 pound whole-milk mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1/4 pound speck, diced
• 12 figs, halved lengthwise
• 3 garlic cloves, quartered
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 basil leaves, torn
• 3 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Sprinkle coarse salt
• Sprinkle red pepper flakes

Method:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• In the olive oil, saute garlic until golden; set aside oil and garlic.
• Spread pizza dough in lightly oiled pan.
• Smooth ricotta over dough; top with mozzarella.
• Arrange figs in a pinwheel pattern atop mozzarella; sprinkle with speck.
• Scatter garlic over ingredients; set oil aside.
• Sprinkle pizza with basil, Parmigiano, salt, and pepper.
• Drizzle with garlic oil and honey.
• Bake 18 to 25 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.

Speck is the only non-traditional ingredient in this recipe. You can replace it with prosciutto, bacon or black forest ham. But, if you can find speck, use it, such a nice earthy flavor.

Ingredients:

• Dough for 1 pizza crust, store-bought or homemade
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta, well drained1/2 pound whole-milk mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1/4 pound speck, sliced
• 12 figs, halved lengthwise
• 3 garlic cloves, quartered
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 basil leaves, torn
• 3 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Sprinkle coarse salt
• Sprinkle red pepper flakes

I know it's the end of the season (well, I'm in California) but if you can find fresh basil, do so. I kept the leaves in between two sheets of damp paper towels and then put them into a zipper storage bag. The leaves kept fresh for a week this way in the fridge.

Mozzarella comes fresh, packed in water, or packaged that's a low-moisture type of cheese.

I have a lot of options for fresh mozzarella around here, so that's what I used. The packaged low-moisture kind you get at your local supermarket is just fine here.

If you use the fresh cheese, you may want to drain it in a strainer for a bit to remove the excess liquid.

• Smooth ricotta over dough; top with mozzarella.

The perfect pairing, figs and honey, feature heavily in this recipe. The sweetness of the honey against the tangy ricotta cheese meld together to create a nice mellow flavor.

• Arrange figs in a pinwheel pattern atop mozzarella; sprinkle with speck.
• Scatter garlic over ingredients; set oil aside.
• Sprinkle pizza with basil, Parmigiano, salt, and pepper.
• Drizzle with garlic oil and honey.

Sprinkle the Parmigiano Reggiano over the top of your creation. I have a handheld grater that is just amazing. You can move it around and not disturb any of the other ingredients. And, it creates a really even coating of cheese.

• Drizzle with garlic oil and honey.
• Bake 18 to 25 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.