Inspired by watching Food Network, these arugula topped ‘pizzas’ are amazing. We left out the traditional tomato sauce and played with all sorts of toppings-sliced and seeded plum tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, thinly sliced fresh sweet peppers, mushrooms, and more. The fun of these is you can top your own, then pile lightly dressed arugula on top, fold, and eat. Warm and cheesy yet a bit peppery with a hit of lemon from the arugula, it's an incredibly delicious way to get your veggies. I didn't include formal measurements, because you can pretty much dig through your fridge and come up with whatever toppings work for you. Leftovers are great, but I tend to pack the pizza and salad topping separate. Also, don't dress the arugula until you are just about to eat it or it will wilt and be soggy.
Toppings:
Smoked prosciutto, sliced
Mozzarella cheese, grated
Fresh parmesan, grated
Sliced black olives
Garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
Zucchini, thinly sliced
Roasted peppers, thinly sliced
Arugula topping:
baby arugula (about 340 g)
Lemon
Olive oil
Pita crust:
(adapted from Andrea’s no fail pita tortillas)
2 cups flour
1 tsp sea salt ( I often use less)
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup hot water
In a bowl, stir together the salt and flour. Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the hot water until the mixture begins to form a ball, then turn out onto the counter and mix with your hands. Knead about 4-6 minutes or until smooth, then cover with a tea towel and let rest.
Once you have allowed the dough to rest for 20 minutes, pre-heat the oven to 450 F. Roll out each piece of dough into approximately 6 inch rounds, the set either on a baking stone or an upside down cookie sheet. (yes, I know this sounds weird. To be perfectly honest I’m not even sure why you use the back of the cookie sheet and not the actual baking surface).
Transfer the rolled dough to the baking sheet-I can fit three at a time on a sheet. Top with some of cheeses, and then follow with slices of proscuitto, black olives, roasted peppers, zucchini, and garlic. Bake for about 5 minutes, watching carefully, until the bottoms are golden. Remove to a wire cooling rack and let cool. Allow the pan to cool before assembling the next batch of ‘pizzas’.
Once you have baked each pizza and they are cooling, toss about 350 g of arugula in a large bowl with 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Zest the lemon right over top into the bowl, then cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice over top. Sprinkle with salt and fresh cracked pepper, and toss until everything is well coated.
Serve the pizzas with the dressed arugula mounded on top so that people can fold them in half and eat.
Serves 4-6
