Tag Archives: arugula

Fig, Goat Cheese, Prosciutto, and Arugula Pizza

One of my absolute favorite foods to make is artisanal pizzas; I love rolling the pizza dough into rustic, oblong shapes that are perfectly imperfect and then topping them with gourmet flavor combinations of quality ingredients. I don’t know exactly what it is that makes me enjoy cooking these types of pizzas so much, but I love the process of cooking them and am really proud of the original recipes I’ve developed!

A couple of my other artisan pizzas!

Most recently, I published my recipes for my Butternut, Brussels, and Bacon Pizza and my Bleu BBQ Chicken Pizza. Today, I giveth onto you the recipe for one of my favorites; my Fig, Goat Cheese, Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza – I know, it’s a mouth full literally and figuratively!

Can you say, “BELLISIMA!”???

This pizza is born of summer and is reminiscent of Tuscany in the warmer months. Imagine this; the sweetness of fresh figs, caramelized onions, and balsamic, contrasted with the saltiness of prosciutto and the tang of creamy goat cheese, and finished with the fresh and peppery bite of arugula. I am telling you, this is one incredible gourmet pizza!

Pour yourself a glass of wine and turn on the old world Italiano music, because with this pizza, you are about to feel like you’re enjoying a beautiful summer meal in the Tuscan countryside! Buon Appettito!

Fig, Goat Cheese, Prosciutto, and Arugula Pizza

Servings: 3-4
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

1 pound store bought pizza dough (I highly recommend Trader Joe’s whole wheat dough)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic glaze or reduced balsamic (Again, I highly recommend Trader Joe’s balsamic glaze or check out this balsamic reduction recipe from Joyful Eats)
1 ½ cups caramelized onions (check out the instructions for caramelized onions in this previous pizza post or this recipe from Food Network)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup goat cheese, crumbled
7-8 black figs, sliced
¼ fresh basil, torn
3-4 slices prosciutto, torn into large bits
½ cup arugula
Parmesan cheese, grated, for serving

Cook’s Note: Vegetarians can certainly omit the prosciutto here to make this a veg friendly option!

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a thin, oblong shape and place on an oiled baking sheet. (Pro-tip: sprinkle course cornmeal on the baking sheet to help prevent the pizza dough from sticking).

Drizzle the surface of the dough with the olive oil and balsamic. Use the back of a spoon to smear evenly over the dough. Arrange the caramelized onions in an even layer over the sauce. Sprinkle evenly with the mozzarella, goat cheese, and half of the basil. Arrange the fig slices and prosciutto pieces evenly across the pizza.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the dough is golden brown, the cheese is melted and bubbly and the prosciutto is crisped. Sprinkle with remaining basil, then the arugula in an even layer.

Cut into rustic squares, sprinkle with parmesan, serve, and enjoy!

Chicken Bellagio

Years ago when I was a teenager, the cool thing to do for us youngsters was to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner before catching a movie. A favorite dish of my friends and I was their Chicken Bellagio; pesto spaghetti, breaded chicken, prosciutto, and a lemon arugula salad – simple yet completely delectable! It is so simple, in fact, that one night while scarfing down the dish before running off to an 8 o’clock film, I had a culinary epiphany: I could totally make this at home for probably less money and for more people. And so, two days later I called on my Italian ancestors to guide me and I created a Copycat Chicken Bellagio Recipe that is to this day a friend and family favorite!

When I was the co-author of my first foodie blog, Confessions of Two College Foodies, this copycat recipe was by far our most popular and most well-read; we even made it on a local access cooking show (which I will not link to here because the 20 year old incarnation of me is much more tragic than the 25 year old one). Anyway, people love this recipe because it is so tasteful and quite elegant despite utilizing simple ingredients.

Chicken Bellagio is a meal that gives you everything you need on one plate: carbs, protein, and greens. Rich and fresh pesto spaghetti is topped with a piece of tender and crunchy breaded chicken, which is then topped with slice of salty and delicate Prosciutto, which is then finished with a tangy and peppery arugula salad. All of these flavor profiles – the herbal freshness from the pesto and the arugula, the saltiness from the prosciutto, and the tanginess from lemon – make this such a magnificently balanced dish.

It is a little bit of work to time everything and get it all assembled, but once you’ve got the meal plated, it is really delightful and presents so beautifully. Furthermore, you can make this very elegant meal for friends and family for about $25-$35 for 4-6 people, which would easily run you over $100 when going out to eat; make this a winner in not only flavor, but in price.

This is going to be your new go-to when craving a restaurant quality meal, right in your own home!

Chicken Bellagio

Servings: 4
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: intermediate
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Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders or cutlets
½ cup flour
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cream or half & half
1 cup Italian seasoned Panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus another 2 tablespoons
1 pound spaghetti
1-1/2 cups store bought or homemade pesto (click here for a reliable homemade pesto recipe)
4 slices Prosciutto
3 cups arugula
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

For the Chicken –

Pound the chicken breast tenders or cutlets until very thin. Season both sides with about a ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper each.

Create a breading station using 3 bowls. In the 1^st bowl, mix the flour, garlic powder and a pinch of salt and pepper each. In the 2^nd bowl, beat the eggs with the cream or half & half till completely mixed. In the 3^rd bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and ¼ cup parmesan cheese. One by one, dip the chicken cutlets on both sides in the flour making sure to shake off excess, then the egg mixture making sure to let excess drain off, then in the breadcrumb mixture being sure to coat completely.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the breaded chicken cutlets. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side until the breading is golden brown.

For the Pasta –

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Reserve a cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta. Place pasta in a large bowl and add the remaining 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese and the pesto. Toss to coat, adding pasta water as needed to thin out the sauce and make sure all noodles are perfectly coated in the pesto.

For the Arugula Salad –

Add the arugula to a salad bowl. Zest 1 lemon directly onto the lettuce. Mix the juice of the 2 lemons, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour over the arugula and toss.

To assemble –

Place 1 serving (about 1/8^th to ¼ of the total) of spaghetti into a wide pasta bowl or onto a plate. Place 1 piece of chicken atop the post. Lay 1 piece of the Prosciutto over the chicken. Top the chicken and Prosciutto with a ¼ cup or so of the arugula salad. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese and serve.

Zest the lemon right onto the arugula. Toss with the dressing before serving.

Pound the chicken very thin.

Make a seasoned flour with garlic powder, salt, and pepper in the flour.

Beat the eggs and cream.

Mix the seasoned breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.

Season your chicken on both sides then follow the breading process.

Cook the chicken 3-4 minutes per side….

….until golden brown.

Add your pesto to the spaghetti.

Toss very well, using pasta water to thin out sauce as needed.

To plate – add the spaghetti…

…top with a piece of chicken….

….top with a piece of Prosciutto….

….and finish with the lemon arugula salad!

Whoop there it is!

Recipe Review: Giada De Laurentiis Linguine with Avocado and Arugula Pesto

With summertime going strong, I continue to make light and zesty pasta dishes for my family’s traditional Sunday Supper. There is just something about a bowl of pasta with bright flavors when the sun is shining and the air is warm. It just makes me feel like I am in the Mediterranean. A couple of years ago, I happened across a recipe for another summery pasta dish that was quite unconventional: Linguine with Avocado and Arugula Pesto.

This recipe comes to us via my favorite cook and culinary goddess, Giada De Laurentiis. Even though I find everything Giada does to be pure gold, I was quite skeptical when I first saw this recipe. How can avocado be in pesto and/or pasta? Of course, after I actually watched her make the dish, I could imagine how the flavors may work together, so I gave it a shot.

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