fig, ricotta & arugula pizza with balsamic honey glaze
+ an October round-up of all my favorite things
Happy October! Aka the month when it’s officially acceptable to *really* embrace fall and indulge in all the sweaters, scarves, pumpkin everything, etc. It’s also fig season around here, and ohhh boy, I’ve been indulging. Fig ice cream, fig jam, fig cake, figs on toast, figs on pizza (aka today’s recipe)… yes, yes, and YES to all of the above.
I’ll happily consume figs in literally any form, and I’ve always dreamed of the day when I’d have the space to plant my own fig trees to feed my insatiable appetite for these plump, juicy, heavenly little fruits.
So for the last 4 years since moving to our farm, I’ve been trying (and by trying, I mean mostly FAILING) to grow some damn fig trees. Figs can (and should!) thrive in our climate (we’re zone 7b), but they are quite sensitive to cold, and unfortunately all the trees I’ve planted keep getting zapped every winter, and they’re still the most pathetic looking fig trees you’ve ever seen, with nary a fruit in sight.
So this week we gave our little fig babies a much needed weeding + fresh layer of mulch, and hopefully they’ll be strong enough to survive this winter and finally flourish next season. I’m clearly *not* an expert on fig trees and have no business giving fig growing advice, so here’s a great guide from Alabama Cooperative Extension on all things planting + growing figs. Grow babies, grow!
Need some culinary inspiration for the weekend? Here’s my weekly round up of hyper-seasonal fall recipes from around the internet to help you eat like a farmer:
Butternut Squash, Spinach & Goat Cheese Pizza from Epicurious
Chickpea & Kale Shakshuka via Smitten Kitchen (the smitten kitchen digest)
Sweet Potato Lentil Curry with Crispy Chickpeas a la Half Baked Harvest
Also! It’s the first Friday of the month, which means I’m sharing my favorite things that I’m especially digging right now…
Reading – I love a fierce female protagonist, which is exactly the ticket in the book I’m reading right now, The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. I’m only halfway through, but loving every morsel… it’s a pretty epic tale that spans all corners of the globe and much of the 18th + 19th centuries, seen through the eyes of the brilliant, quirky, endlessly curious, and plant-obsessed heroine Alma Whittaker. Highly recommend! And in the Substack realm, I was challenged (in the best way) this week by
’s post on why she’s leaving instagram, and I’ve fallen in love with the raw and refreshing honesty in everything that writes in her gorgeous newsletter, Morning Person.Watching – Last weekend I realized the newest season of the Great British Baking Show (GBBS) is *finally* back on Netflix, and I am positively GIDDY. I have a feeling most of y’all are already familiar with GBBS, but *just in case* you’re not… it’s absolutely one of my favorite shows of all time. It strikes the perfect balance of healthy competition, inspirational baking content, hilarious hosts, and an eclectic cast of kind, talented amateur bakers that you can’t help but fall in love with. New episodes drop every Friday on Netflix!
Listening – I’m fully convinced that there’s no better soundtrack for fall than anything and everything by Edwin Raphael (my personal fav song right now is Denim Darlin’).
Wearing – Without fail, Aerie is my go-to source for ridiculously cozy (and cute) fall clothes that are still reasonably priced. Right now, I pretty much live in this “LumberJane” fleece set (top / bottoms) and this oversized, super cute + comfy sweater. And I’m a sucker for anything #waffle, so I’ve got my eye on these joggers…!
Okay, your turn… what are YOU digging & cooking these days? Thoughts on anything I’ve shared today? Let us know in the comments. :)
As you’ve already heard, while I’ve yet to successfully grow figs, I’ll gladly consume my weight in them. This week I was craving some pizza, and a FIG PIZZA sounded like literal heaven… which is how this recipe for Fig, Ricotta & Arugula Pizza with Balsamic Honey Glaze was born. Trust me y’all, THIS PIZZA IS SO FREAKING GOOD. And – bonus! – once it’s all assembled with yummy toppings (figs, arugula, prosciutto, balsamic glaze, dusting of parmesan cheese, etc) it’s also so gosh darn pretty.
When it comes to making homemade pizzas, you can certainly make your own pizza dough (here’s a good recipe), but you *absolutely do NOT* have to. I have zero shame buying a bag of pre-made pizza dough, and neither should you! (I especially like the pre-made pizza dough options from Trader Joes and Whole Foods).
As I noted in the recipe, if you do use pre-made dough, it’s super important to take the dough out of your fridge and let it rest at room temperature for an hour or so before baking. This allows the dough to warm up/wake up, and it will be SO MUCH easier to stretch.
Also! I’m often frustrated by pizza recipes that don’t give clear, detailed instructions for how to best stretch / assemble / bake homemade pizza, so this recipe is especially detailed and will hopefully be helpful as you whip up your own creations.
And for all my visual learners (!), I’ve saved a handy highlight on instagram where I walk you through the whole pizza-making process HERE. Keep reading for the full recipe (available to ALL subscribers this week) along with a handy PDF for printing.
So as they say on the Great British Baking Show… ready, set, BAKE!
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To get in on this deliciousness EVERY week, join as a paid subscriber! You’ll also get access to my full recipe archive, gardening resource library, monthly giveaways, and you’ll be able to join our comment and chat sections.
Fig, Ricotta & Arugula Pizza with Balsamic Honey Glaze
Serves 4-6
+ watch a photo tutorial for this recipe on instagram HERE!
INGREDIENTS
For the Pizza
Olive oil
1lb pre-made pizza dough
A few tablespoons of medium or coarse cornmeal
1 cup (8 ounces) full fat ricotta cheese (or sub mascarpone or goat cheese)
Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon zest)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
8-10 fresh ripe figs, sliced
4 large slices prosciutto
1-2 cups (a handful or two) fresh arugula
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Balsamic Honey Glaze
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 500F.
*1.5 hours before you’d like to eat* – if your pizza dough is in a plastic bag, add 1 tablespoon olive oil directly into the bag of 1lb pre-made pizza dough, and gently transfer the dough into a large bowl (the olive oil helps remove the sticky dough from the bag). Cover the bowl with a towel, and allow it to sit out on your counter for 1 hour – this helps the dough warm up and will be MUCH easier to stretch.
While the dough is coming to room temp, prep the other materials / ingredients:
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit onto the back of a rimmed baking sheet (or to fit on a pizza stone, if using). Tape the piece of parchment paper down onto your counter, and lightly dust it with a few tablespoons of cornmeal.
Flip a rimmed baking sheet upside down and place it on the lowest rack in your preheated oven, so it can start heating up (alternatively, if using a pizza stone, put that into the oven on the bottom rack).
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup ricotta cheese, zest of 1 lemon, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and a pinch of freshly ground pepper. Stir until well combined and set aside.
To make the balsamic glaze, pour ½ cup balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons honey into a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to low and gently simmer until reduced by half, 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the glaze has reduced by half and lightly coats the back of a spoon, remove from the heat and set aside to cool (the glaze will thicken as it cools). A note that the glaze is totally optional… but recommended!
Time to stretch the dough. Here are some rather detailed, (but hopefully helpful) instructions:
Once the dough has rested for 1 hour, rub a clean cutting board (or your countertop) with 1 tablespoon olive oil and plop the dough into the oil (I find using olive oil instead of flour is better for preventing the dough from sticking, as flour can make the dough tough).
Put a bit of olive oil on your hands and use your fingers or fist to flatten the dough into a disc. Press the dough out from the center, widening the flat disc into a large rectangle shape (or if using a pizza stone, widen into the shape of your stone).
If your dough slowly shrinks a bit, that’s normal, but if it snaps back quickly, rest the dough for 10 more minutes under a clean kitchen towel, then repeat the process of flattening the dough.
Now it’s time to really stretch the dough – carefully pick up the dough and hold it with both hands on one edge of the dough, letting the rest of the dough hang down. Gravity does most of the stretching work as you gently rotate the dough in one direction like turning a wheel. Slowly pull the dough from hand to hand as the dough hangs down. Working quickly, stretch the dough as best you can before it tears (but if it does tear a bit, don’t worry! You can fix it).
Carefully move your stretched dough to the prepared piece of parchment that you dusted with cornmeal. Use your hands/fingers to continue stretching the dough to your preferred shape, leaving the edge/crust a bit thicker than the center of the dough. If there are any tears in the dough, just pinch to close them. Because we already cut our piece of parchment paper to fit the back of the rimmed baking sheet (or pizza stone) that the pizza will bake on, I try to stretch the dough close to the edge of the parchment paper.
Once the dough is stretched, transfer the piece of parchment (with the dough on top) onto another upside down rimmed baking sheet or pizza peel. This is an important extra step because you’re about to weigh down the pizza with toppings, and this will make it easier to transfer the heavier assembled pizza into the oven.
Assemble the pizza:
Spread the ricotta mixture over the pizza dough, leaving a small ½”-ish border for the crust. You want this to be a fairly thin layer of ricotta, so you may not need to use all of it. Dot the top of the ricotta with 8-10 sliced fresh figs and then drizzle everything with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
Bake the pizza:
To transfer the pizza, open the oven and pull out the bottom rack (with the now very hot upside down rimmed baking sheet or pizza stone). Carefully slide the piece of parchment paper (with the assembled pizza on top) directly onto the hot baking sheet (or pizza stone), then push the rack back into the oven.
Bake the pizza for 15-20 minutes. When finished, the crust should be deep golden brown and the bottom should also be browned and firm. Make sure to peek at the bottom to make sure it’s nice and golden!
Add the final toppings:
Remove the cooked pizza from the oven and top with a handful or two fresh arugula, 4 torn slices of prosciutto, and a generous drizzle of the balsamic honey glaze. Finish it all off with a healthy dusting of freshly grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!
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