Pizza with Ham, Pears and Pesto

The dough base

Homemade pizza with ham, pears and pesto is easy to make, and you can use store-bought ingredients for the topping. Buy a large ripe pear, but not an overripe one, or it may turn runny. It’s best to buy cooked ham already sliced; it should be very thin and lean. You can find cheddar-style mozzarella in stores. It’s ideal for the topping and easy to grate.

1. Make the yeast pizza doughin advance. We usually make a 36 cm pizza and use a simple yeast dough made with 2 cups of wheat flour (260 g), which is enough.

   If you don’t have time to fuss with yeast dough, use a simple yeast-free dough made with kefir or baking powder. It turns out very well.

2. Roll the dough out into a circle and place it on a pan greased with a little vegetable oil. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise a little, just half an hour; it will be fluffier and softer.

   

Pesto and topping

3. Prepare the pesto and spread it over the dough. If you like, use ready-made pesto, which is easy to find. In the season when fresh green basil is available, it’s better to make the sauce yourself. It’s simple and very quick: put basil, garlic, Parmesan, pine nuts, a little salt into a blender, grind to a paste and add olive oil so the sauce is thick.

   Spread 3 tbsp of the sauce over the dough, in a fairly thin layer and without gaps.

   

4. Layer the ham and mozzarella. Grate the mozzarella on a coarse grater. Set aside about two thirds for the top of the pizza and divide the rest in half. Sprinkle one smaller portion over the pesto and lay thinly sliced cooked ham on top. Ham is usually sold in fairly large slices, which is the best option for this topping, so there’s no need to cut it into smaller pieces. Ideally the slices of ham should cover the whole surface of the dough. Sprinkle the second smaller portion of mozzarella over the ham.

   

5. Slice the pear and place it over the ham. Peel the pear with a sharp knife, cut it in half and remove the core. Cut the fruit into very thin slices. If the pear is very ripe and releases a lot of juice, pat the slices dry with a napkin. Arrange the pear slices over the ham, starting from the outer edge of the dough and working in a circle. Leave small gaps between the slices; you don’t have to put pear in the center of the pizza. Sprinkle the pear with a pinch of dried oregano.

   

6. Sprinkle the pizza with the remaining mozzarella, the largest portion, thickly and without gaps. It’s easy to press the topping down with your palms.

   

Baking

7. Bake the pizza until the mozzarella and the underside of the base are browned. Preheat the oven to 180-190°C, let it heat through, and put the pan in to bake. A pizza usually bakes in 20 mins. But because there is a lot of topping and it’s moist, it may take longer, up to half an hour. Go by the browning of the mozzarella and the underside of the dough: lift the edge to check.

Serving

8. Transfer the finished pizza to a wooden board and let it cool for a few minutes, then cut it into slices. Using a knife or slicer, shave a piece of Parmesan into large shavings and sprinkle them over the pizza. Add a little arugula as well. Serve the pizza while it’s hot; there’s no need to reheat it.

   

   The topping also works well without ham: you can add prosciutto on top of the finished pizza together with the Parmesan shavings. And don’t replace the arugula with basil: its flavor and aroma are too intense.