Before I dive into this delicious creamy artichoke and fig pizza, I wanted to share some fun news with you. I’m hosting a free virtual class all about working with natural light in photography, I’ve been shooting with a camera for over 18 years now and am sharing my go-to lighting tips and strategies in this 1 hour class. I’ll also go over the gear I use to light my images (which costs less than $45 total). It’s a super fun class, it’s free, and I’d absolutely love to see you there! I’m hosting a couple live sessions, and you can save your spot here 🙂

Now, onto the pizza! This recipe actually makes two pizzas, because it tastes so good that you’ll definitely want that second one around for extra servings. It’s also really, really easy to make. The most time-consuming part is the dough, which isn’t difficult, it just requires rising time. But if you’re in a hurry, you can always use store bought pizza dough instead. My favorite part of this pizza is the sauce, though. It’s a mixture of artichoke hearts, garlic, parmesan cheese, lemon, walnuts, and rosemary blitzed together in a food processor until creamy and smooth. When it’s spread on the pizza dough and baked along with the grapes and shallots, everything caramelizes and creates the most wonderful amalgamation of sweet and savory flavors.

And because I simply cannot eat enough figs this time of year, I put some raw ones on top along with fresh basil, some microgreens, and a drizzle of good balsamic. Turns out, fig pizza = HEAVEN. The result is a truly Mediterranean pizza, celebrating the best parts of late summer produce in those regions (and luckily for me, Portland, too!) This pizza goes really well with a crisp white wine or vino verde, too, if you want a tasty little beverage to go with it. Enjoy, my friend!

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Artichoke Shallot and Fig Pizza

Recipe makes 2 pizzas.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Italian

Keyword pizza

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bread flour
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Artichoke Sauce (makes about 1 1/3 cups sauce)

• 1 10 ounce jar artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
• 8 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 ounces about 3/4 cup walnut halves and pieces
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Topping. (for 2 pizzas)

• 3 ounces about 1 1/4 cup grated pecorinno romano cheese
• 1 ounce about 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 4 large shallots thinly sliced
• 1/ cup dark red or black grapes
• 6 fresh figs halved or quartered
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup microgreens optional
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic

Instructions

Dough

• Mix together the dough ingredients in an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment at low speed for 3 minutes (pausing to scrape down the flour on the sides of the bowl as needed). Cover and allow to rest at room temperature out of direct sunlight for 15 minutes.
• Then knead the dough with an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment at low speed for 3 minutes. Place the dough on a well-floured surface (like a cutting board) and divide it in 2. Form each into a ball, then pat into a circle. Cover each with a lightly oiled piece of beeswrap or plastic wrap or tin foil and allow to rise at room temperature out of direct sunlight for 3 hours, or covered overnight in the refrigerator.

Artichoke Sauce

• Blend together all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Topping + Assembly

• Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) with a baking stone inside of it. Alternately, you can cook the pizza on a metal round pizza pan.
• Place a piece of parchment paper on a large cutting board. Place one of the pizza doughs on the parchment paper and stretch out the dough until it's about 10 to 12 inches in diameter, leaving a 1-inch crust border around the edge that is slightly elevated.
• Spread half of the artichoke sauce on the center of the pizza, leaving a 1-inch (2.5-cm) border for the crust. Sprinkle half the cheese on the pizza, and evenly distribute the half of the shallots and the grapes on the pizza.
• To transfer the pizza onto the baking stone, open the oven and hold the cutting board next to the baking stone, using your other hand to pull the parchment paper off the cutting board and slide it (along with the pizza) onto the baking stone. Close the oven and bake until the crust is deeply golden and the crust turns gold, about 15 minutes. Repeat with the second pizza.
• Evenly distribute the fresh figs, basil leaves, and microgreens over the two pizzas. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon of balsamic each, and serve.

Notes

Pizza dough recipe adapted from the New York Times