So last weekend was my first real weekend looking for goodies at the Downtown Riverside Farmer's Market. I had been there the previous Saturday but had been late and missed out on some things, sad. In general, I have to say I enjoy this market! It is in an absolutely gorgeous location (next to the historic and beautiful Mission Inn), there is plenty of convenient parking, and there is a delicious coffee shop and breakfast bistro called Simple Simon which I would highly recommend right across the street. And in addition, the vendors are generally very friendly and ready to answer your questions (some can be slightly pushy, shoving a bag into your hands while you are merely perusing okra- just because I'm looking at okra doesn't mean I need to/want to buy it, sirrr). But as I examined the offerings last Saturday I was looking for something special, something I couldn't grow myself in CT. Interestingly enough there weren't too many things that fit that description, I saw quite a few peaches, plums, berries, etc. But finally! I stumbled upon a gorgeous pint of figs!
I saw a movie once (in my Ecology class at Northeastern) about the pollination process of figs, which is seriously fascinating. Fig wasps lay eggs inside the fig so that when the eggs hatch the larval stage is able to collect pollen from the flowers (which are within the fruit itself, an odd circumstance that has allowed for this odd method of pollination). The larval stages eventually matures and breaks free of the fig fruit. As they fly away to create their own baby wasps they carry with them the pollen from their original fig, which they will deposit in a second fig that they chose to lay their eggs in, thus cross-pollinating the second fig and allowing the cycle to continue. I apologize for the unbridled nerd-ery you just had to deal with there, but please, don't be grossed out. It is not like you are eating insects when you eat figs, and you have to remember that most of the fruit you eat has been up close and personal with some kind of insect pollinator in it's lifetime, albeit not usually to this extent.
But anyway! What I decided to make was a pizza featuring the familiar pair, figs and prosciutto. I used a ricotta cheese mixture instead of tomato sauce and also incorporated some caramelized onions. All these toppings were placed upon a cornmeal crust which is tender and puffy, but also has the right about the "crisp" to it. In my opinion this pizza had a beautiful balance between sweet and salty components. I hope you will give it a shot!
Prosciutto wrapped Fig Pizza
Crust (makes 4 individual pizzas):
4 1/2 tsp. dry active yeast
A pinch of sugar
1 1/3 cups warm water (not hot, just warm)
3 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
3 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Toppings:
1 large red onion
1 pint of figs (about 18 figs in total)
6 thin slices of prosciutto
1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
3 cloves garlic
A hand full of flat leaf parsley
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut red onion into thin slices and place over very low heat in a frying pan, onions will reduce by more than half and turn brown (but not burnt). This may take a while, perhaps an hour or so.
In a measuring cup or mug place the warm water, yeast, and sugar and allow to sit for ten minutes, until frothy. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, cornmeal and salt with a whisk. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the olive oil and yeast mixture and work with hands to incorporate. Once the ball of dough is formed, pour a bit of olive oil over the top (to help avoid dessication) and place a warm, slightly moist towel over the bowl and allow to sit for 1 hour or until the dough had doubled in volume.
While the dough is rising you can cut the thin slices of prosciutto into thirds (the long way) and wrap each of those strips around a fig. Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about ten minutes, until prosciutto has crisped up.
Once the dough has risen, cut into fourths and shape each fourth into a nice individual pizza crust, allow to rise again for about 20 minutes.
Chop garlic and parsley and incorporate into the ricotta with a bit of salt and pepper.
Assemble pizza, first with crust, drizzle with olive oil and spread all the way to the edges so that that crust will turn a beautiful brown. Top with ricotta mixture, figs, caramelized onions, and mozzarella cheese. Bake in the 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes.
