pizza with prosciutto and arugula

on the very last day of our honeymoon a year and a half ago, we had pizza for lunch at danieli in vienna, austria. i'm not sure if it was the crust, the cheese, the prosciutto, the rainy day, the city, or the thought of finally going home - or a combination of it all - but it was the best pizza i've ever had outside of italy. i first recreated it three weeks after we came back (with a few other czech and german recipes that were such dismal failures that they aren't even worth mentioning), and about every six months or so it reappears for an easy weeknight dinner.

it's a very easy variation on classic pizza marguerita: skip the basil, top with prosciutto and add arugula once it's baked. use whatever dough and tomato based sauce you like. that's it.

if you haven't yet discovered the magnificence that is prosciutto, what are you waiting for?! it's a bit pricy, but well worth it. you will most likely find it at the deli counter sliced thin enough to see through. while it's great on pizza, it's also amazing thinly sliced and tossed with pasta (sometimes it's in vodka sauce) or wrapped around slices of cantaloupe or honeydew (my favorite). but be careful. once you're turned on to it, it's hard to get off of it!

pizza with prosciutto and arugula
15 minutes, makes one large pizza

your favorite pizza dough, white or wheat
your favorite pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella or 1/2 pound ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced
1/4 pound very thin sliced proscuitto
2 cups washed arugula

1. if using, cover a pizza stone with cornmeal (to prevent the dough from sticking). place pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 450F.
2. roll out your pizza dough thin and top with sauce. top with cheese. cover the entire top of the pizza with a blanket of the prosciutto.
3. bake about 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is browned.
4. remove the pizza from the oven and immediately top with the arugula.