Fried Peach and Pancetta Pizza

Growing up, I always loved when my family made pizza from scratch, but what I loved even more was what came after the meal. Any extra dough and scraps were rolled out, left to rise, fried, and sprinkled with sugar to create a simple, but delicious donut-like treat.  Here we're doing a savory twist, using the same technique to make a pizza featuring ricotta, pancetta, and peaches. Garnish with extra sprig of thyme if desired.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Calories: 462 Calories

Ingredients

• ground black pepper to taste
• ½ cup ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon olive oil, or as needed
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, or as needed
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or to taste
• 1 cup olive oil, or as needed
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste
• 8 ounces pancetta bacon, thickly sliced
• 12 ounces pizza dough, or more to taste, cut into quarters
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, or to taste
• 20 slices fresh peach

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat an oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Line baking sheets with aluminum foil.

Step 2

Sprinkle pancetta into a cold skillet and drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil over pancetta. Cook and stir pancetta over medium heat until browned and caramelized, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and cool pancetta in the oil in the skillet.

Step 3

Place 1 dough quarter on a work surface and lightly dust with flour; roll into a 1/8-inch-thick irregularly shaped crust. Stretch dough with your hands to an even thickness; let rest on the work surface for 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.

Step 4

Heat about 1 cup olive oil, reaching about 1/2-inch depth, in a heavy cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Fry each piece of dough until browned and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. The first side will be lighter than the second side. Drain the crusts on paper towels.

Step 5

Transfer pizza crusts, lighter-side up, to prepared baking sheets. Spread about 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese onto each crust using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme over ricotta layer. Sprinkle pancetta over the ricotta-thyme layer; season with black pepper. Nestle about 5 peach slices onto each pizza, working around the pancetta pieces. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon Parmesan-Reggiano cheese over each pizza. Drizzle about 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil over Parmesan-Reggiano layer.

Step 6

Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and peaches are lightly browned and tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool pizzas for 5 to 10 minutes on the baking sheet.