When the Moon Hits Your Eye

I'm going to say this very unpopular thing, I don't like pizza. To be more accurate I should say that I'm not crazy for most pizza. If I'm with friends and someone says "Let's order pizza!" (in my head this is in the voice of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, by the way) I might try to suggest noodles, or burritos instead. Failing that suggestion and we do get pizza, I'll eat a slice but mostly because I dislike being hungry much more than I dislike like pizza. Sauce is usually the issue for me, over seasoned, too sweet, or too processed are my chief complaints. In my neighborhood I do like the slices at Pizza Metro (on Division for those of you who know of the feuds and multiple locations in Chicago). It's simple, Roman pizza with a sauce that is light and tastes like good, crushed tomatoes; the potato rosemary is my jam. I suggest eating in since it is often full of Roman men drinking endless cups of espresso, watching football matches, yelling and gesturing in accordance with whatever wonderful or terrible thing their team has just done. For some of you I may have just outlined the exact reasons you would carry-out.

When I was traveling through Italy I had some lovely pizza, one that I particularly loved in Florence was topped with prosciutto and arugula which is now my favorite to re-create at home. It would be better if I made my own dough. My schedule right now allows enough time to make dinner...not dough.

Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza
Let the dough come to room temperature, allow about an hour. I buy the pre-made dough from Trader Joe's. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Brush a baking sheet with olive oil. Dust the counter and rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough. Place the dough on the cooking sheet and press to the corners. Brush the dough with a mixture of 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1 crushed clove of garlic. Poke holes in the dough with a fork to prevent bubbling. Place the dough in the oven until it has very light golden spots on the top. Meanwhile grate 1 1/2 cups of Pecorino Romano cheese, spread the cheese on the dough and continue to bake until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

I make a lemon dressing for the arugula which I highly recommend, this does mean only dressing enough of the greens for the slices you are about to eat. It's worth the small assembly.

Whisk together 1/3 cup of lemon juice and 1/2 cup olive oil, season with salt and pepper. This amount will be more than you need for the entire pizza. Layer the slices with prosciutto, then enough dressed arugula to top.

Cost
Pizza dough- $1.19
Sliced prosciutto- $4.49
Organic arugula- $2.49
Lemons- $ .97
Pecorino- $3.95

Total per slice
$1.63