Fig and Goat Cheese Pizza- 2 Ways

My girlfriends and I have a serious thing for goat cheese and just like Amelia's spinach dip, it's a food that always appears at our girl's nights.

 

I've made this pizza several times - and it's always a hit. Though in my opinion, you really can't miss with the combination of fig, goat cheese, arugula and pizza.

 

 

After trying the Fig and Prosciutto pizza from Rustic Kitchen, I fell in love with that pizza combination and set out to make it at home. I've tried two different versions - the first one I made by throwing together what I thought would work and a second I made following a recipe that sounded appealing.

 

I followed this recipe from Bon Appétit which involved making the jam from dried figs. It was delicious and I enjoyed the process of making the jam. I subbed the Marsala wine (which I didn't have) for the red wine I already had open (allowing the opportunity to also drink the wine while cooking, which is always a plus!). I didn't add the pears but I added turkey bacon to make it a little more hearty for my manly husband. The variation possibilities for this pizza are endless, but adding anything savory or salty (like bacon, onions, goat cheese, arugula, etc.) balance out the sweet fig jam nicely.

 

 

While I liked the recipe version, I usually make the pizza with store bought fig jam which is delicious (recipe below) and a cinch to throw together. And there's really no sense in messing with a good (and easy) thing! It's great as a meal or sliced into small squares as an appetizer for a girls' wine night.

 

 

Fig and Goat Cheese Pizza

 Ingredients

• Store bought whole wheat pizza dough
• Fig preserves (I use Bonne Maman which is available at most grocery stores)
• 1 large red onion
• Crumbled goat cheese
• Arugula

 

Recipe

When you're ready to make the pizza, remove the dough from the fridge and let it come to room temperature, it will be a lot easier to stretch out. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and if you're using a pizza stone preheat that in the oven, too. (They say when baking pizzas, the hotter the oven the better.) Slice and Caramelize the onion and put aside. On a floured surface, spread out the pizza dough (using a rolling pin or just stretching with your fingers) to your desired crust thickness. [I've learned a good trick, if the dough keeps shrinking back and won't let you stretch it, let it rest for just like a minute and try again.]

 

Carefully remove the hot pizza stone from the oven (or pull out your cookie sheet) and sprinkle on some yellow cornmeal. Par-bake your pizza crust just until it begins to not look doughy (very technical terms we are using here!) and gets very slightly golden. Remove the slightly cooked pizza dough from the oven and spread the fig jam all over the dough. How much you use is up to you, but get a good even layer on there. Next throw on the caramelized onion and lastly top with the goat cheese. Put the pizza back in the oven until the goat cheese is melted and the crust is crisp and golden brown.

 

Remove from the oven and top with a generous amount of arugula, it will wilt down when it hits the hot pizza. Drizzle a slight amount of olive oil on top of the arugula and season with a little bit of salt and pepper. Sometimes I've found that slicing the pizza into 1/8-slices before topping it with the arugula is a little more manageable.