Ever since my husband was diagnosed with Celiac, pizza night has looked a little different in our household. While plenty of pizzerias are offering GF crusts these days, most use shared toppings and cooking surfaces making for a gluten cross-contamination nightmare. And frankly, even the shops more allergy conscious typically only serve up a thin, cracker crust type pizza. Fits the bill on occasion, but the Italian in me craves variety and higher quality. So rather than ordering pizza out, we've started making our own.
This weekend we experimented with grilled pizzas! I whipped up a pizza dough recipe from No Gluten, No Problem, but of course, you can use your favorite recipe or pre-made dough. In fact, P.C. (that's pre-Celiac for you fortunate folk) I would pick up a ball of dough from our local pizza shop just to make life a little easier.
Pizza is pretty forgiving and allows for oodles of creativity. I was in a White Pizza kinda mood this weekend. Now, there's a right way and a wrong way to build your White Pizza. Some pizza shops sauce their crust with alfredo - this would be so very wrong in my humble pizza-eating opinion. Instead, I opt to spread garlicky, herby ricotta cheese over my crust.
I can't leave well enough alone. After grilling my White Pizza, I topped it with peppery arugula and salty prosciutto. What a fresh take on a grilled pizza! Perfect for summer dining. Whether gluten-free or gluten-full, this Grilled Prosciutto & Arugula White Pizza is a winner!
Grilled Prosciutto & Arugula White Pizza
Ingredients
· ~14oz fresh pizza dough
· 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
· 2 cloves garlic, grated
· ½ tsp dried basil
· 2 tbsp pecorino cheese, grated
· ¼ tsp salt
· ¼ tsp pepper
· Olive oil
· 4-6oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
· 1 ½ cups arugula
· 2oz sliced prosciutto
· Shaved parmesan
· Salt & pepper
Place a pizza stone in the oven at 500F for at least 1 hour before baking.
Line a work surface with a large sheet of parchment paper. Dust the paper with a bit of flour or cornmeal. Using a rolling pin, flatten the pizza dough into a large circle about ¼ inch thick.
Cover loosely with a dish towel and allow to rest and rise for about 30 minutes.
While the dough rests, prepare the ricotta. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, garlic, dried basil, pecorino, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Preheat the grill to about 500F.
Using a pizza peel or a large cookie sheet, launch the pizza on the parchment into the oven. Parbake for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Brush the top of the crust with olive oil. Flop the top of the crust onto the grill and remove the parchment. Cover uncovered for about 45 seconds. Using tongs, rotate the pizza crust about 90 degrees and cook for another 45 seconds.
Flip the pizza over. Quickly spread the ricotta mixture over the pizza as though it were marinara sauce leaving a small border for the crust. Sprinkle liberally with mozzarella. Close the grill and cook for 2 minutes. Using tongs, rotate the pizza about 90 degree and cook covered for another 2 minutes. Remove from the grill once the bottom of the pizza is crisp with well-defined grill marks and the cheese is melted. If the bottom is cooking faster than the cheese is melting, lower the grill temperature.
Once the pizza is cooked, remove from the grill and top the pizza with the fresh arugula. Nestle small piles of prosciutto into the arugula. If desired, top with a drizzle of olive oil, shaved parmesan, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Slice and serve hot!
Serves 2
Notes
You can make your own pizza dough or visit your favorite pizza joint. They’ll sell you a ball of their fresh pizza dough!
GF Friendly
Gluten Free Friendly!
No Gluten, No Problem as well as Gluten Free on a Shoestring boast great recipes for gluten free New York style pizza doughs. In a pinch, Cup4Cup makes a pretty good Pizza Crust mix that will work well for this recipe too.
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