I LOVE Pizza! I’m half Italian, so that could be part of the reason… but I think pizza is just perfection. Who can resist a soft sweet crispy crust topped with cheese and basically whatever you like?

I have a few other pizza recipes on my site, and I have to say that this is at the top. Well, it might be right behind Philly Cheesesteak Pizza (which was so frickin’ good)… oh, and then there’s the BBQ Chicken Pizza. Hmmmm. Not sure what my favorite is, probably just a good old classic Marguerita Pizza with fresh tomato, basil, garlic and mozzarella.

It’s fun to make pizza at home and experiment with different flavors, topping it with whatever you’d like or whatever you have on hand at the time. That’s basically how this pizza came to be. I didn’t want to make a red sauce, but I had a small tomato on hand. Also, had pesto on hand, so that made it’s way to the pizza, too. Within a few minutes, I had an incredible pizza that was ready to pop into the oven.

Prosciutto Pesto Pizza ready for the oven

INGREDIENTS
Pizza Dough, or storebought
Drizzle of Olive Oil
1 small Tomato, diced
6 large Mushrooms, diced
1/4 Red Onion, diced
1/4 Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
1/4 cup Prosciutto, diced (you can buy it pre-diced)
1/2 cup Fresh Mozzarella, cubed
1/2 cup Mozzarella, shredded
1/3 cup Pesto
1/2 tsp Salt
a few grinds of Fresh Ground Black Pepper or Crushed Red Pepper

METHOD
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Shape the pizza dough and place on pizza round or baking sheet.
Drizzle with a little olive oil.
Sprinkle tomato, mushrooms, red onion, bell pepper, prosciutto and mozzarella evenly over the crust.
Drop pesto evenly on the crust by the half teaspoonful.
Salt and pepper.
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Enjoy!

Pizza Dough

INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm water
2 ½ teaspoons dry active yeast
1 Tablespoon honey
2 ½ to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil

METHOD
Mix the honey and warm water together in a small bowl. Add the yeast to the water and let it sit for 15 minutes until a nice foam forms from the yeast growing.

Place flour and salt in a mixing bowl with the dough hook attachment and slowly add the yeast mixture.  Mix on medium-high for about 5 minutes, until the dough becomes elastic and firm.

Remove dough from bowl and rub lightly with olive oil. Place in a bowl and cover with a clean dry towel. Let sit in a warm place to rise for 20 minutes. It should double in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place dough on a floured surface. If you want to make smaller individual pizzas cut dough into portions, or use for one large pizza. Roll out to desired thickness and size.

Spoon whatever sauce you desire on pizza. Add the cheese and toppings.  Place on a pizza stone and bake for 10 minutes or so, depending on the thickness of the dough.

Remove, cut into slices and serve.

For a crispier crust:  I usually cook my pizza crust for about 7 minutes before I top it with anything. That’s always an option.

Pizza Ideas:
Sauces – Marinara Sauce, Pesto Sauce, Chimichurri Sauce, Barbecue Sauce,  Cilantro Sauce, Sweet & Sour Sauce, Alfredo Sauce, Hummus

Toppings – Sautéed Mushrooms, Spinach, Pepperoni, Sausage, Mini Meatballs, Steak, Chicken, Bacon, Basil, Peppers, Garlic, Onions, Olives, Capers, Eggplant

Cheeses – So many delicious cheeses to try, depending upon your sauce and toppings!