Boston Food Blog | Recipe Journal and Boston Restaurant Reviews

Pizza

Spring Ramps Recipes (Part Two): Pizza with Prosciutto de Parma, Ramps, and Baby Shitakes

Part two of this post is as casual and simple as part one ‘spring ramps with poached eggs and toast’, and at least equally delicious.  Pizza is a great vehicle for ramps because it gives them room to shine, and the salty prosciutto and savory mushrooms make a brilliant combination.  This pizza couldn’t be easier to make, either, because you precook the dough a bit, pre-saute the mushrooms and ramps, and spread a layer of creme friache instead of laboring over a sauce.  We prepared the whole meal in about twenty-five minutes.

When this pizza emerged from the oven, the aroma alone was enough to stir our normally docile dog into a mild frenzy.  We both agreed that we would be quite happy with this pizza even if we had ordered it from a gourmet pizzeria.  If you can’t find baby shitake mushrooms, you can use regular shitakes if you remove the woody stems and chop them into bite sized pieces.  Also, given that it was mid-week and we started cooking at eight, we used a pre-made pizza dough from Whole Foods, which was actually quite good.  You can also usually convince your favorite pizza parlor to sell you some dough, or certainly, if you are so inclined, you can make it yourself!  Either way, you will impress a crowd with this one!

This recipe is made much easier with a pizza stone and peel.  If you don’t have one, it is a worthwhile investment if you think you would like to make pizza at home.  The recipe below makes one large pizza and serves 3-4 people.

Ingredients:

• Pizza dough (~8 oz. or enough for one large pizza)
• 1/4 lb. thinly slices prosciutto de Parma (amount allows for minimal snacking)
• 1/4 lb. of fresh baby shitake mushrooms

• 10-15 fresh ramps, cleaned and sliced into diagonal strips
• 1/2 cup  creme friache
• 1/3 cup shaved Pecorino Romano
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (for brushing on the dough)
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 550 degrees with the pizza stone in it.  For best results, put a layer of corn meal on the pizza stone and flour your pizza peel.  Toss or roll out your pizza dough and set it on your peel while the oven preheats and you complete the next step.

In a saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the baby shitake mushrooms and saute for about three minutes.  Add the ramps and season with a pinch of salt, and saute for one more minute, and then remove from the heat.  Set aside.

Once the oven is hot, brush your pizza with the olive oil and pre-cook for about 5 minutes or until the dough becomes lightly golden brown and bubbly.  Remove from the oven.

To assemble the pizza, spread the creme fraiche in an even layer over the dough.  Then, break up the prosciutto into bite size pieces and spread over pizza.  Evenly distribute the ramps and mushrooms.  Return to the oven for another 3 minutes.

Remove the pizza from the oven and garnish with fresh black pepper and the Pecorino cheese.  Serve immediately.

Tags: Ramps, Spring