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.