Roman Pizza Series 3 of 5 - Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza

When you visit Rome, two of the must-see attractions are the Vatican Museum and the Basilica of Saint Peter located within Vatican City. These sites can easily take you all day to go through, depending on your speed and how much of the masterful art you’d like to absorb.

To say the Vatican Museum is enormous would be an understatement. I thought you’d simply go in, see a couple of art exhibits before you head to the Sistine Chapel and be in and out in an hour or so, but that SO is not the case! The Vatican Museum is composed of over twenty distinct collections—any of which could be their own stand-alone gallery—that you have to walk through on your way to the Sistine Chapel. The amount of art that is on display is completely overwhelming to the point you are almost “art-ed out” by the time you reach the remarkable ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately the Vatican Museum does not allow its patron to snap pictures of the Sistine Chapel (they have ample staff in the chapel that walk around clapping and constantly reminding folks “no photo”)so I am unable to provide you with a look here. But…here are some highlights of my Vatican experience:

Gallery of Maps: the most amazing hallway I've ever been in.



Raphael's "The School of Athens"



Even the floors were amazing!

I guess they don't want you wearing underware into the Vatican...

Curtis and I in Saint Peter's Square.

After touring the Vatican all day it was refreshing to enjoy what would later be such a memorable piece of pizza. Now that I’m thinking back, the version of this pizza that I had in Rome started my love affair with arugula. I love arugula! The little spicy leaves are so peppery and almost mustardy. I enjoy how the salty prosciutto cuts through the peppery tang of the arugula to create the classic Italian pairing.

Roman Pizza Series 3 of 5 – Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza

Look at those air bubbles in the crust!

Cook’s Notes: Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter.

Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick.

This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.

Mia enjoying a bite of pizza.

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough:

3 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1 2/3 C water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature

1 1/4 t table salt

1 1/2 t instant yeast

1 1/4 t sugar

3 T extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

Toppings:

1-14 oz can diced tomatoes

4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced and torn into pieces

1 ½ C loosely packed arugula

2 oz prosciutto

Directions:

1.  Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

2.  Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

3.  Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4.  One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

5.  Drain the can of tomatoes over a bowl for 20-30 minutes.

6. Roughly chop the arugula and set aside.

7.  Tear the prosciutto into pieces and set aside.

8.  Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.

9.  Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.  Take the crust out of the oven and sprinkle with drained tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula and prosciutto. Return to the oven and cook an additional 5-10 minutes.

10.  Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board. Let cool slightly and then slice and serve.

Serves 4-6

Source: Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

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