Balsamic Cherry Feta Prosciutto Pizza is a delicious way to add some fun to pizza! Homemade pizza is definitely my weakness, in all of it's many forms.
It's fun to experiment with different crusts and toppings for pizza. Since it's cherry season, I wanted to use some of them in a savoury recipe, for a change from pies, cheesecakes and muffins. So I made a salad: Cherry Walnut Couscous Salad, some ice cream: Cherry Amaretto Ice Cream, and this pizza with balsamic cherries and feta.
Pizza is one of those dishes that you can get creative with. As long as you have a delicious crust and plenty of cheese, the sky's the limit!
Balsamic Cherries
I previously pickled some fresh, pitted cherries in balsamic vinegar with some thyme and black peppercorns. The balsamic cherries were delicious on this pizza, with feta and prosciutto, but also super versatile for a lot of other dishes, too.
Cherries on a Pizza?
At first there was a little hesitancy and skepticism when I said I was making a pizza with cherries. But I knew that the cherries, which I soaked in fine balsamic and then roasted on the pizza with the feta cheese, and prosciutto would have a delicious wow factor.
We loved the flavour combo of this pizza. I added some caramelized onions along with fresh thyme and rosemary from the garden. This pizza had it all going on; sweet, tangy, salty, peppery and creamy on a crisp crust.
The Pizza Crust
If you want to save time you can use a pre-made pizza crust, but homemade pizza dough is a cinch to make and to me, a homemade crust always takes pizza to the next level. If you like to use a bread maker for your dough, this recipe with beer is really good. This balsamic cherry, feta & prosciutto pizza would also be good on a naan bread crust, just like this Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza
This recipe makes two (approximately) 10-inch pizzas. So if you want some some variety, make one of them with different toppings. Maybe this Bacon, Spinach & Tomato Pizza.
Recipe
Balsamic Cherry, Feta & Prosciutto Pizza
Ingredients
- *Dough
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- *Topping
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups Monterrey jack or mozzarella cheese grated
- 1 cup balsamic cherries
- 10 slices prosciutto ham sliced into thin strips
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Warm the bowl of a stand mixer with hot water.
- In the bowl stir together yeast and warm water and leave to dissolve.
- When this mixture has become frothy,(about 3 minutes) add the remaining ingredients and using the dough hook, turn the mixer to medium-low (speed 2 on mine)
- Knead at this speed for about 5 minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until dough clings to hook and cleans the sides of the bowl.
- Remove from bowl and on a lightly floured countertop, shape into a rectangle.
- Fold the dough into quarter turns, flattening again and repeating.
- Shape the dough into a ball and put into a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
- While the dough is rising, caramelize the onions by cooking on a skillet over medium-low heat in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, turning often, about 15 minutes or until caramelized.
- Remove onions from heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 450°
- Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment.
- Punch the down dough and divide it into two equal pieces.
- Stretch each piece of dough into a rough rectangle, and place onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Rub each piece of dough with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Spread Monterrey Jack cheese evenly over both pizzas.
- Spread caramelized onions evenly over both pizzas, then do the same with the cherries, prosciutto slices, feta cheese, rosemary and thyme.
- Bake in center of oven about 10 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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jason
Wow this is different! Do the cherries work ok on the pizza dough? Also from a flavor perspective do you have to do it with feta or could you use pizza mozzarella?
Love the look of it I have to say
Colleen
Hi Jason. The balsamic cherries work perfectly on this pizza. I think mozzarella would still be delicious, but flavour wise, the feta is a great balance to the other ingredients. I hope you give it a try. Thank you for stopping by!
Emily
What an awesome idea! I make pizza a lot but I've never thought about cherries! I'll be trying this out next time I'm craving pizza ☺️ Thanks for sharing!
admin
Thanks Emily! I think you will love it!
Dina
Colleen, pizza with cherries sounds great to me. I make pizza with figs, apples and other fruits. Today though I am making your quick pickled red cabbage. I have a recipe from my late mother in law for pickled beets which is similar, although it sounds like it is sweeter than your recipe. I don't think I posted it. It calls for 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water and 1 teaspoon salt. It's delish for quick pickled beets. Thanks for posting, I am going to use your pickles on my tacos.
admin
Thanks Dina. I love pickled beets, thank you for the recipe which I will try for sure. Enjoy your tacos, and I hope you like the cabbage!