Pear & Prosciutto Pizza- Trader Joe's Post #4

Mmmm... Home made pizza fresh out of the oven. Balancing the flavors just the way you like, rolling the dough out to your favorite thickness. Nothing beats Trader Joe's fresh pizza dough. Available in Plain, Whole Wheat, & Garlic Herb each bag can make a variety of sizes (about 4 individual pizza's or 2 larger shareable pizza's) I've topped it with hundreds of combinations of cheeses, veggies, meats and other fun things over the years. For this weeks post I took inspiration from one of my favorite seasonal dishes from Pizza Antica but with a little bit of my own spin! With the tangy cheese, sweet pear, & salty prosciutto you can't ask for more!

This is my absolute FAVORITE prosciutto. Available at Trader Joe's- best value for the cost, the pieces always hold up really well when you are working with them and they taste great!

I start by Pre-Heating my oven to 475 F. The bag calls for 450, I'm not sure if its my oven or my pans but I find it cooks better for me a little higher especially since I'm looking to achieve a thin crisp crunch. If you are lucky enough to have a wood fire oven you know those suckers get up to 750F and you achieve that perfect crisp edge and chewy  center. If you have a pizza stone that goes in your regular oven follow their suggested temps.

It's important while your oven is pre-heating and you are prepping your toppings to let the dough rest on the counter top in the room temp for about 30 minutes. While it is in your cold refrigerator the yeast in the dough that helps it rise and get chewy and delicious is dormant. Letting it come to room temperature will both help you be able to stretch the dough more easily but will also help it not be dense.

I like to slowly stretch the ball of dough with my hands until it is the desired thinness (not always the most uniform shape haha but I like the baked texture better than when I roll it out with a rolling pin). Once shaped place the dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (to avoid sticking).

On all my pizza's I like to do a spray of olive oil over the whole dough before topping (if you don't have a olive oil spritzer you can also use a pastry brush and brush the dough with oil) this will help the edges get nice and golden. Next I took some well chopped roasted garlic and spread it evenly over the dough. I followed that with chunks of Trader Joe's Cambozola which is flavor wise like a combination of a Triple cream (like a really creamy brie) and gorgonzola (Italian blue cheese) nice and melty and tangy a perfect compliment to the thin slices of sweet but firm Bosc pear. Once all these ingredients are layered I popped the pizza in the oven for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes I pulled the pizza out and added some chopped fresh sage and a layer of prosciutto, finishing it off in the oven for another 3-5 minutes (until the edges of the crust are brown and the prosciutto begins to crisp). Slice it up and serve with your favorite glass of light and fruity red wine or crisp white! I enjoyed mine with one of my favorite new wines from Trader Joe's- Found Object's Carmenere.

At $5 a bottle you can't beat the deal on this Chilean wine. Trader Joe's is currently selling 3 varietals from Found Object's - Carmenere, Petit Verdot, & Syrah. I have tried all but the Syrah so far and found them pleasant and surprisingly complex and interesting considering their low price point. Definitely worth checking out the next time you are there and want an easy week night bottle!

Tell me- what are your favorite unique pizza toppings?