I hesitate to call this “pizza” because it’s not anything like anyone would expect when you hear “pizza”. However, it was inspired by a dish that was on the “pizza” menu at a local restaurant, and the restaurant stopped making it when they removed their pizza oven, so maybe it is pizza? In any case, whatever you call it, it’s delicious – a thin crust holds warm ricotta cheese, salty prosciutto, and peppery arugula, with a lovely drizzle of olive oil on top!
Prosciutto, Ricotta and Arugula “Pizza” – serves 2-4
2 frozen pizza crusts (I used a frozen cauliflower crust this time and it was great, but I’ve used the refrigerated pizza crust too)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (you may need a little more or a little less, depending how energetically you brush and/or drizzle)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1 and 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
4 oz. prosciutto (my supermarket sells prosciutto in 4 oz. packages near the deli department – if yours doesn’t, you will probably be able to find it at the deli department or at any Italian deli)
2 cups arugula, roughly torn
IMPORTANT NOTE: these quantities make two small (personal size) pizzas or one large (regular) size pizza. If making two, use half of each ingredient on each pizza!
Preheat oven to 425. If using a refrigerated pizza crust, roll it out thin. Brush each crust (any kind) lightly with olive oil. Spoon ricotta onto crust and use back of spoon to spread the ricotta over the crust. Basically, you want ricotta everywhere you’d have mozzarella on a traditional pizza (leave a space around the edge to hold onto). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Pull prosciutto slices apart (note: to make this easier, you may want to put the package of prosciutto in the freezer for five minutes before you need it. That said, your slices don’t need to be perfect for this – I always end up tearing it up to get it where I want it). Top with prosciutto. Your pizza will look something like this:
As you can see, it doesn’t need to look perfect!
Bake on pizza pan or directly on oven rack at 425 for 13-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool at least 2 minutes. Cut into slices. Top each slice with arugula. Drizzle with olive oil.
Eat and enjoy!
