Guest Post : Judy from Savoring Today featuring Fig, Chevre & Arugula Pizza

For this Fig, Chevre & Arugula Pizza, sweet fig spread is topped with tangy goat cheese and fresh herbs and then crowned with arugula and grape tomatoes. A drizzle of aged balsamic harmonizes flavors in a perfect finish you can serve as an appetizer or enjoy as a meal all its own. The great thing about pizza is how easy it is to customize to your own preference the topping possibilities are endless.

Every Mondays and Fridays of June and July we will be featuring some my favourite food bloggers for the first time here at Ang Sarap. These bloggers are exceptional and served as a big influence of what is Ang Sarap now, so please do visit and follow every one of them (if you haven’t yet) and I will assure you that you won’t be disappointed.

Our guest for today is Judy from Savoring Today.

Judy started Savoring Today on March 2010 that’s the same month and year I started Ang Sarap and since then we’ve been following each other’s posts.  Judy’s recipes lean towards nutritional healthy dishes and whole foods (not processed), I adore her food philosophy which all of it I agree and most of it are applicable in my situation as most Filipino foods can be classified as Paleo I just sometimes divulge into something processed and unhealthy once in a while.  Her blog does not feature only amazing recipes but she also writes things related to life events, celebration, reviews and as a God-fearing person there are some inspirational faith articles as well.  I love her stories and I enjoy every post from the recipes that relates to a life event to the inspirational bible verses shared it is a very enlightening read.

So before I hand this over to Judy, I just want to share some words of wisdom from her.  Judy and like most of us would believe in this mantra “Life is too short to not have dessert”, that makes a lot of sense and embraced its meaning up to this day but Judy did not, she re-evaluated it after some unexpected life events, so it read now like this:

“Life is too short not to have dessert; it will likely be shorter if we do”. 

That indeed made me think a lot.

Hello, I am Judy fromSavoring Today and for more than 25 years, I have had a love affair with cooking. At Savoring Today I share this passion for food through recipes and health related articles to connect family and friends with healthy, delicious food. It is an honor to be a guest on Ang Sarap and a privilege to be introduced to you, I was so pleased he considered me for this series.

I don’t remember exactly where I first discovered Ang Sarap, but I do remember it was the photos that caught my eye early in 2010 when I began blogging and I have been following ever since. Raymund’s photos continue to inspire me and there is always something cultural or historical to learn from his recipes. His blog is the first place I look for Asian cuisine.

Writing a guest post is a little bit like inviting a friend’s friends over to my house for dinner, we both know Raymund, but we don’t necessarily know each other. Because I have such high regard for him and what he does here at Ang Sarap, I have prepared something special for his friends (that’s you) to savor at my table.

This is the fifth post in a series—Five Pies in Five Days. The focus of the series is on pizza, which here in America is also referred to as pizza pie (sorry if you were hoping for dessert). A recipe of this type may be considered a gourmet pizza since the toppings are not traditional and may require a specialty shop to find all the ingredients. If you do not have access to a specialty shop, I have included links and additional recipes for such items in case you want to make them at home.

At our house, we use sprouted wheat flour for most bread recipes, so the pizza dough includes that ingredient. However, this same recipe can be converted to all-purpose flour if you have experience with bread dough, if desired. I know Raymund has a recipe you can use for pizza crust too.

For this pizza, sweet fig spread is topped with tangy goat cheese and fresh herbs and then crowned with arugula and grape tomatoes. A drizzle of aged balsamic harmonizes flavors in a perfect finish you can serve as an appetizer or enjoy as a meal all its own. The great thing about pizza is how easy it is to customize to your own preference the topping possibilities are endless.

It is my pleasure to share this with you!

Fig, Chevre & Arugula Pizza

★★★★★ 5 from 10 reviews

• Author: Judy from Savoring Today
• Yield: 6 as a meal; Served as an appetizer, 2 pizzas will serve 14-16. 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 recipe Sprouted Wheat Pizza Dough (recipe below)
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 jar Dalmatia® Fig Spread Original
• 10–12 ounces chevre cheese – (soft goat cheese)
• 8 large fresh basil leaves — chiffonade
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme — leaves removed
• 1/3 cup fresh oregano leaves — whole leaves
• 4 handfuls arugula leaves — washed and dried
• 1 cup grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes — halved
• aged balsamic or balsamic reduction (recipe below)

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Instructions

1. Prepare pizza crust. Set oven racks at the lowest and middle position. Preheat oven to 425°. Lightly oil pizza pan with olive oil (I prefer dark pans, it helps the crust brown better). Press dough onto the pan until evenly spread (about 12”), flat (no rolled edge), and thin. Using a fork, pierce dough all over, this will prevent the dough from forming bubbles when baked.
2. Pre-bake crust on the lowest rack in the oven for about 5 minutes, just until dough is set, but not browned.
3. Remove crust from the oven and spread 2-3 tablespoons of fig spread over the dough with the back of a spoon to create a thin, even layer.
4. Slice goat cheese or using your fingers, crumble the cheese all over the layer of fig, leaving some small spaces in between the pieces of cheese.
5. Sprinkle fresh herbs over the layer of goat cheese, as desired. Other herbs can be substituted for those listed, based on preference.
6. Bake on the middle rack for 5-7 minutes until the edges of the crust are light brown, the cheese is hot, and the herbs are fragrant.
7. Remove from oven and top with arugula leaves (take a deep breath, the warmed arugula smells fabulous), spread the halved tomatoes around on top of the arugula, and drizzle with balsamic.
8. Slice and enjoy!

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Notes

The ingredient measurements in this recipe are all estimates, add more or less of any item, as you prefer. This recipe makes 2 thin crust pizzas, it can be divided for fewer servings or 1/2 the dough can be frozen for up to 1 month to make the second pizza at another time.
In case you cannot find the fig spread or aged balsamic, you can visit this link for a homemade fig spread recipe http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/fresh-fig-spread/23940/ or make a reduced balsamic with the recipe below.

Sprouted Wheat Pizza Dough

★★★★★ 5 from 10 reviews

• Author: Judy from Savoring Today

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Ingredients

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• 1 slightly rounded teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110°)
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups sprouted wheat flour

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Instructions

1. In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water and honey. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften.
2. Stir in olive oil, then add the salt and 1 cup of the flour. With a heavy-duty mixer or large spoon, mix until dough is elastic, about 5 minutes. Let dough rest 20 minutes.
3. Mix-in the remaining flour until dough forms a soft ball of dough. Although the dough will be more shaggy than regular flour dough, if it appears to be too soft for won’t hold its shape, add a couple tablespoons more flour. Lightly oil a medium bowl, place dough in bowl; turn dough to grease top. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and then cover with a kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 hour).

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Balsamic Reduction

★★★★★ 5 from 10 reviews

• Author: Judy from Savoring Today

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Ingredients

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• 3/4 cup of balsamic vinegar

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Instructions

1. Bring 3/4 cup of balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Turn the heat to low and reduce to approximately 1/3 cup. The vinegar will thicken as it cools.

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