Photo: Leigh Loftus
I grew up in a relatively small suburb, about an hour outside of New York City, where there were essentially two pizza joints to choose from. While both had their own unique charm, they were missing one thing: fresh fig, blue cheese and caramelized onion pizza.
There was Aljon’s, which was a slightly grittier New York style pizza place that always smelled vaguely of tomato sauce. It was where nearby nurses and teachers popped in for a slice on their lunch hour and teenagers snacked on pizza in between rounds on the arcade games in the back of the restaurant.
Then there was Romeo’s, a bona fide family restaurant run by two Italian brothers who knew your name and eventually, your order, when you walked through the door. The casual pizzeria in the front half of the space was where families ordered their Friday night take-out pizza and the back half of the space was a white table cloth restaurant fit for special occasions and celebrations.
It was at Romeo’s where my family celebrated birthdays, ordered to-go meals when we were moving to a different subdivision across town and once, forgot to pay our bill before leaving. The owner greeted us at the door when we went back in to pay our check, with a poorly disguised smile, saying: “it’s too late, I already called the police” before taking our payment with laughter.
It was this tiny, small-town pizza joint where I learned that pizza toppings extended beyond pepperoni, onions and green pepper — none of which I was particularly fond. Romeo’s offered Buffalo Chicken Pizza, “White Pizza” with broccoli, Deep Dish “Pan” Pizza and “Canadian Pizza” with pineapple and bacon. Romeo’s most likely made my first Margherita pizza, still a favorite today.
Though the cooking gene arguably runs in my family, there’s not a drop of Italian in my lineage, so I’m going to give Romeo’s credit for my creativity in the pizza department. Though, it really isn’t hard when you have fresh figs begging to be used, alongside sharp, pungent blue cheese and a bunch of farmer’s market fresh arugula. If you’re feeling adventurous, a little bacon or prosciutto would go a long way on here, too.
You can thank Romeo’s later.
Photo: Leigh Loftus
- ½ pound store bought pizza dough
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
- ½ large Spanish onion, chopped
- 8 fresh figs, sliced
- 8 ounces fontina cheese, freshly grated
- 4 ounces blue or gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
- 2 cups fresh arugula
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- a pinch of salt and cracked black pepper
- At least 45 minutes before cooking, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500 degrees F (if your oven goes up higher, preheat to 550 degrees F).
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add chopped onion. Cook until onion is tender and begins to caramelize, about 10-15 minutes.
- Assemble the dough on a peel or baking sheet. Cover the pizza dough with the toppings, careful not to press toppings into the dough and weigh it down. First, layer the caramelized onions, then the figs, and finally the cheese, leaving roughly a ½ inch border for the "crust."
- Using a pizza peel, transfer to the oven or to your pizza stone. Cook until the crust has browned on the bottom and the top is bubbling and browning in spots, about 7-10 minutes. Top with arugula while hot, so the greens will wilt slightly. Drizzle with a little olive oil, a pinch of salt and some cracked black pepper. Serve hot.
3 Comments
Helen in CA
September 7, 2018 at 2:09 amThis sounds good. But there are some things kinda mixed up: instructions for making dough w/out the ingredients in the recipe. Also, what to do w/ the onion?
Finally, if using bacon how much and do you cook it first? OR ????
Thanks ’cause it looks good
New York Inspired Snacks Round Up for the Super Bowl
February 4, 2017 at 11:37 pm[…] Fresh Fig, Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Pizza from In Good Taste French Bread Pizzas with Mozzarella and Pepperoni from In Good Taste Thin Crust Mushroom Pizza from Christine’s Cuisine Prosciutto Pizza from Alexandra’s Kitchen […]
In Good Taste Magazine | Recipe Inspiration
October 21, 2014 at 8:30 am[…] also bookmarked these recipes that I’ve been dying to try; especially this fig, blue cheese and caramelized onion pizza, apple cider donuts before the harvest is over, and this vanilla chai smoothie for mornings that […]