Tasso Ham and Fig Pizza

In the last shipment I received of our brother Anthony’s gorgeous smoked salmon, he also included a sample package of a perfectly smoked Cajun specialty I hadn’t had before – Tasso Ham. Wow! Where was this all my life?!? Smoky, spicy and, when sliced thinly, it is reminiscent of a spiced prosciutto. Gorgeous!

While perfect by itself, those of you who read my last post, Free Figs In Phyllo, know that I recently came into a gross of figs.

And so I played the unlikely pair against each other by way of pizza. Awesome flavor combination! It’s savory and sweet, and cheesy and crusty….Is it an appetizer? Is it a main dish? Is it a dessert? I don’t know but it’s awesome.

Tasso Ham and Fig Pizza

For the Crust:

1/2 cup (3.5 oz.) gluten (“00”) flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon yeast
2 ¾ cup (15 oz) all purpose flour
1 3/4 cup water

Using a paddle attachment on stand mixer at low speed, combine gluten flour, salt, yeast, water and 1 ¼ cup (6.5 ounces) flour until thoroughly combined (2-3 minutes). Mixture will look lumpy. Let mixture rest about 10 minutes.

Switch to dough hook and knead in remaining 1 1/2 cup (8.5 oz) all purpose flour. Let knead on low speed 6-10 minutes or until dough comes together and starts creeping up the dough hook.

The dough will be sticky. Tuck and roll into a ball and place into the bowl. Cover bowl with a towel and let rest and rise in a warm place for around one hour. If not using the dough right away, place into a Ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator. (This dough is actually better after a day or so in the refrigerator.) Dough keeps well in fridge or freezer indefinitely. Make sure to proof your dough until room temperature before using.

For the toppings:

6 figs, thinly sliced
2-3 oz. Tasso ham, thinly sliced
Slices of mozzarella cheese (blocked or fresh)
Olive oil
Johnny’s garlic seasoning

With a pizza peel, cast iron griddle, or other pan on the lowest rack in the oven, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkle pizza peel or other pan without a lip with a little corn meal. Roll/toss dough to desired size/thickness and place on pizza peel. Brush crust with olive oil, sprinkle with a little Johnny’s Garlic seasoning and top with cheese, figs and Tasso. Transfer pizza onto the hot pan in the oven and cook for around 8-12 minutes or until cheese is nice and bubbly on top.