10.8.13 Apple, Brie and Prosciutto Pizza
As a Wisconsin resident for the last 9 years, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that up until last weekend, I had never been to Door County. I know, I know, unacceptable. Luckily, I have since remedied the problem and will tell you that we had a lovely time up in DC last weekend. Well, of course except for that torrential downpour that lasted most of Saturday. Regardless, we managed to have a fantastic time, and returned home laden with apple cider (both the regular and hard varieties), apple doughnuts, apple butter, and probably some more apple products I’ve somehow forgotten. SO MANY APPLES. So it seemed appropriate that another apple recipe should ensue. Although, after so many apple desserts last week, I figured I needed to take these apples in a different direction.
Now, I’ve already extolled the virtues of pizza in an earlier post, so I’ll spare you this time around. You know how I feel about pizza. So it’s not surprising that sometime yesterday afternoon, I was hit by a pretty insane pizza craving. And with all the apples I had lying around, I thought a pizza with apples on it would in fact be pretty fantastic. As it turns out, this was a correct assumption, especially when said apples are paired with brie cheese, caramelized onions, sage, and prosciutto. It’s the perfect balance of sweet, salty with just a hint of tartness from the apples. Pair it with a cold glass of hard cider, and you’ve achieved fall pizza perfection.
Now I know that caramelizing onions can be a lengthy process, but trust me, it’s worth it. Not to mention the fact that it will make your kitchen smell fantastic. I prefer to caramelize my onions the old fashioned way - low and slow, preferably while leisurely sipping a glass of wine (or some hard cider?) and enjoying the marvelous aroma. If, however, you are pinched for time, the folks at the food lab have documented some methods to drastically increase the caramelization reactions, resulting in 15 minute caramelized onions. So feel free to try these tricks to speed things up a little.
Apple, Brie, and Prosciutto Pizza
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 tsp chopped fresh sage (or ½ tsp dried sage)
- Pizza Dough (recipe follows)
- 1 tsp cornmeal
- 1 medium apple, thinly sliced
- 4 oz Brie cheese, thinly sliced
- 3-4 oz thinly sliced prosciutto
1. While pizza dough is rising, caramelize your onions. Heat ½ Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add onions and salt. Once onions begin cooking and releasing liquid (about 2-3 minutes), reduce heat to low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until very golden brown and caramelized, about 35-40 minutes. Add the sage and continue cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Grease a baking sheet or large pizza pan with cooking spray and sprinkle it with the cornmeal. Place dough in the center of the pan and spread all the way to the edges, spreading dough as thinly as you can without tearing it. Let pizza dough rest while oven heats and you prep the rest of your toppings. (hint - if you’re having trouble spreading the dough all the way to the edges, spread it as far as you can, then let it rest for about 5 minutes. After resting, it will be easier to finish spreading the dough all the way to the edges of the pan).
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
4. Top pizza dough with ½ Tbsp of olive oil and spread it so it covers the surface of the dough all the way to the edges. Top evenly with the caramelized onions, apples, brie, and prosciutto.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crust is browned, cheese is bubbly and prosciutto is crisp. Enjoy immediately!
Pizza Dough
Makes 1 large pizza
More in-depth details on perfect pizza dough here.
- ¾ c warm water
- 1 t active dry yeast
- 1 T honey
- 2 c flour (preferably bread flour)
- 1 t salt
1. Dissolve yeast and honey in water, let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Combine the flour and salt and a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the liquid ingredients, stirring until ingredients are just combined. Let sit for 10-20 minutes. (note: this sitting stage allows the gluten network to start forming through hydration, which will cut down on your overall kneading time by about 50%. If you’d rather not wait, you can start kneading immediately, and you will just end up needing to work the dough for about 6-8 minutes to build up a sufficient gluten network).
3. Knead dough until a smooth cohesive ball forms and dough passes the ‘windowpane test’ (should take about 2-4 minutes if you rested the dough in the previous step, otherwise about 6-8 minutes).
4. Spray a bowl with cooking spray, put dough into bowl, turning to coat both sides of dough with oil. Cover bowl and let sit at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, or until dough has doubled in size.
