October is my favorite month–the leaves! Halloween! Autumn produce! Unfortunately, it’s also a high-travel month for both me and my partner, and we often have work trips back-to-back and independently of each other, which means I am behind on updating and cooking projects (and rewatching Hannibal, garden pruning, and so on).

Here’s a pizza we made back in September when we were getting figs at the store–which have now been replaced with Oregon cranberries.

This recipe is based on one of my favorite combinations of late-summer/early-fall produce: figs, basil, and arugula with goat cheese, prosciutto, and balsamic reduction.* Balsamic reduction is fancy as heck and requires very little effort and no other ingredients but balsamic vinegar and heat.

Enjoy your October, spooky readers!

Fig, Prosciutto, Goat Cheese, Basil, and Arugula Pizza with Balsamic Reduction

Time: Dough, 6-24 hours; Prep/assembly: 15 minutes; Baking: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Pizza Dough from Smitten Kitchen
-3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
-Slightly heaped 1/8, 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast (for Overnight, All-Day, or Part-Day Schedules respectively, see link)
-1.5 teaspoons sea or kosher salt
-1.25 cup water, plus an additional tablespoon or two if needed

Toppings (to divide between two pizzas)
-olive oil for painting on crust
-4 oz (113 g) goat cheese
-3 oz (85 g) prosciutto, torn into bite-sized pieces
-〜12 oz (~350 g – about a pint box’s volume) figs, stemmed and sliced into thin rounds
-1 cup by volume arugula, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
-1 cup by volume basil, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces (I used Genovese basil)
-2 TBSP (30 mL) of balsamic reduction**

Equipment

-1 large bowl (for dough)
-plastic wrap (for dough)
-2 cookie sheets
-saucepan (for balsamic reduction)

Instructions

1. Make pizza dough according to directions. Spread onto 2 cookie sheets and paint with olive oil.
2. Preheat your oven to 500ºF (260ºC).
3. Spread goat cheese evenly on each crust, then add sliced figs and prosciutto.
4. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and add basil and arugula, then place back in the oven for another 3 minutes, until the greens are wilted and the crust is lightly golden.
5. Finish with balsamic reduction. Serve hot.

Note
*Me: Hey, C, what if we used all these figs I got on sale to make pizza with prosciutto and goat cheese? And arugula? And–[dramatic pause]–balsamic reduction?
C: OH SHIT.

**I used about 1 cup (240 mL) balsamic vinegar, added it to a sauce pan, and heated it to just boiling (~10 minutes, longer if you use more liquid), then reduced it to a simmer until it coated the back of a spoon. Then remove from heat and reserve. If you have extra, it’s great for caprese, salad dressing, strawberries, or vanilla ice cream. Here’s a video!