I found this amazing harvest of figs growing in my back yard and didn’t know what to do with them until I remembered this amazing recipe for pizza that I learned on some in-flight t.v. channel years ago. It turned out to be so delish, I thought I’d share – as all great things, especially great food, should be! The link in the first sentence is to the original recipe and the recipe below is the one I kinda threw together from memory. Both are equally scrumptious.
(photo credit: Gourmet magazine, June 2008)
Ingredients
6 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/4 lb onions (2 large), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
14 to 16 oz pizza dough, thawed if frozen
1/4 lb Gorgonzola dolce, crumbled (1 cup)
1/4 lb thick-cut bacon, crisply cooked & crumbled
3-5 figs; rinsed & quartered
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Preparation
Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat until it shimmers, then cook onions with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, covered, stirring occasionally, until golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and keep warm, covered.
Prepare a grill for direct-heat cooking over low charcoal (medium heat for gas).
Stretch dough into a roughly 12- by 10-inch rectangle on a large baking sheet and brush with 1 Tbsp oil.
Bring dough, onions, bacon, figs, cheese, parsley, and remaining Tbsp oil to grill area.
Oil grill rack, then put dough, oiled side down, on grill and brush top with remaining Tbsp oil. Grill, covered, until underside is golden brown, 1 1/2 to 3 minutes.
Using tongs, return crust to baking sheet, turning crust over (grilled side up). Sprinkle evenly with onions, bacon, figs, cheese, and parsley. Slide pizza from sheet onto grill and grill, covered, until underside is golden brown and cheese is partially melted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into pieces.
*cook’s note: feel free to play with the recipe. the second time we made it, instead of carmelized onions, we used grilled purple onions. finally, if you’re not going to use a store-bought dough, and opt to make your own, fantastic! However, you’ll need to use foil on the grill as the dough will be too soft & fall through the grate.
