Looking like a pair of clowns, clowns, clowns...

Do I ever have a WOW for you...stick with me while I introduce you to possibly the most delicious savory pizza I have created. I had a version of this recently, and have tweaked it quite a bit, now I would not change a thing in my recipe below. I am sure you see the strawberries in the picture, and may be leary. I will reiterate this is a savory pizza. It starts with a whole wheat crust. Sitting atop the crust is a vast array of caramelized figs, feta cheese, goat cheese, peppery arugula, cheddar, strawberries finished with a balsamic reduction. I know it sounds too much, but each elements compliments one another in perfect harmony. I normally use all purpose flour for my pizza dough, but these flavors needed a sturdy backing of whole wheat. I am sure if you step out of the box with me on this you will not be disappointed. 

• 1 whole wheat thin pizza crust (using the pizza dough recipe I have already posted only with whole wheat, you may find this by clicking on Breads on the right hand side of my blog)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 8 green or black mission figs
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 ¼ cups baby arugula
• 4 medium size strawberries, sliced in half
• ¼ cup crumbled goat’s cheese
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Balsamic glaze:

• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

In a small sauce pan, combine balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 10 minutes until it reduces to about a half.

Set aside (it will thicken as it cools)

Preheat oven to 400F. Drizzle olive oil on pizza crust. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for about 5-6 minutes. (The dough is uncooked at this point) In the mean time, slice the figs into thirds and dip slices in brown sugar making sure they’re well coated.  Arrange fig slices in a large hot non stick skillet. Cook the figs at medium heat for about 3 minutes, until they start to caramelize. Turn them over, add balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and continue cooking another 3-4 minutes. Set aside. (Note: Don’t skip the lemon! It will keep the sugar from crystallizing) . Once the pizza crust is out of the oven, sprinkle with shredded cheese. Top with baby arugula, caramelized figs, strawberries, feta and goat’s cheese. Season again with salt and pepper for extra flavor. Bake at 400F for about 7 minutes, until the cheeses melt and the arugula starts to wilt.  Drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Until tomorrow...Peace.