Prosciutto Pizza

I confess I am not at all ashamed of my thieving ways. While pretending to visit our son at NYU Lorraine and I ate at Mario Batali's Eataly and while Lorraine had what is the BEST, slightly better then mine, Braised Short Rib Ragu I have ever had, I thoroughly enjoyed a Bufalo Prosciutto Pizza so much so that I ripped it off along with the Ragu. 

Sorry Mario!

Ingredients 
1 Ball of Pizza Dough
1 Lb Fresh Mozzarella
8 Oz Fresh Tomato Sauce (a can if you must)
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 Lb Prosciutto di Parma
1 Tbs Dried Oregano
1 Tbs Dried Basil
1 Tbs Dried Thyme
1Tbs Granulated Garlic or Garlic Powder
1 Tbs Onion Powder
1 Tsp Black Pepper 

1 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preparation
A couple of notes before we begin. For those of you who don't know me, I'm cheap. So when I specify a particular ingredient such as Prosciutto di Parma over a less expensive domestic prosciutto it is not because I have money to burn but because the taste is worth it, if you can afford the few extra dollars. 

I also specify Fresh Tomato Sauce if possible because again this just adds a dimension to the pizza that is worth the trouble but is not necessary. By Fresh Tomato Sauce I mean from whole tomatoes. You can use canned whole tomatoes like San Marzano or domestic or you can throw 6-8 ripe romas in a pot of boiling water and when the skin puckers run them under cold water and peel them.

In either case, canned or fresh puree just the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Be sure not to include the extra water that is in the can of whole peeled tomatoes. That's it. That's all you want to do. You don't want to put them in a pot on the stove with herbs and cheese and cook them you just want them pureed.


Let's build a Pizza.

Stretch your dough, round, rectangular, or other, to 1/4" or thinner and spread olive oil evenly on top. Spread a thin coat of tomato sauce covering the dough to about 3/4 of an inch from the edge. Evenly add the herbs, Oregano, Basil, Thyme and seasonings, Garlic and Onion Powder, and Pepper. 

Salt is left out intentionally because Prosciutto is a salt cured ham and therefore there is no need to add more.

Cheese is next. Before the Mozzarella sprinkle your Parmesan over the sauce and herbs. Fresh Mozzarella is the way to go here, sliced is best. For those not sure what the difference is between plastic wrapped Mozzarella and Fresh, Fresh is the soft one that you can now find in most better supermarkets and in Italian specialty stores. 100% Coverage is not what you are looking for in this case 80-90% coverage is more then adequate for this pizza.

Finally cover as much of your pizza as possible with the Prosciutto in one layer.

Cook it at 450 degrees on either a pizza stone or top rack until the crust is lightly brown and the bottom is dark golden to light brown. Total cooking time will vary since you can't trust the temperature of ANY oven between 7 and about 12 minutes.

Every time you take a bite and think how good it is remember you are an accessory to Pizza Recipe Theft.