When I was a student in France, I fell in love with the pizza that was a few francs at a great Italian Pizza restaurant in the Latin Quarter.   The rustic crisp and chewy crust was fired in an old wood-oven and the toppings were sparse.  I have no idea if they make this pizza in Italy as I’ve never had it there, but to this day, it is my favorite of all time.   The individual pie is perfect in its restraint.  Each of the quadrants of the pizza is filled with a different topping: artichoke hearts, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and French ham or prosciutto.  The only cheese on the pizza is in the mozzarella quad…if you want to embellish this, you can add a few nicoise olives and cook an egg in the center, leaving it runny to sauce the rest of the ingredients once you cut into it.

Ingredients

Grilling Method: Combo/Medium Heat

Cornmeal or all-purpose flour, for rolling dough 4"" ball of prepared pizza dough, at room temperature

Olive oil about 3 tablespoons

¼ cup crushed-style canned tomatoes

½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated

¼ cup sautéed or raw sliced mushrooms

2 canned artichoke hearts, cut in quarters

2 large slices Prosciutto or French ham, thinly sliced

1 small ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Nicoise olives, optional

Egg, optional

Methods/steps

Lightly sprinkle work surface with cornmeal or flour. Place dough directly in the middle of the work surface. Roll or stretch gently into either a rectangle or circle, 1/4 thick. Brush both sides with olive oil and set aside until ready to grill.

Place dough in center of the cooking grate, directly over the heat for 2-4 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is well marked and browned. Remove from grill and make sure to close the lid of the grill so you don't loose heat. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce evenly over the crust. ""Draw"" a cross with the grated parmesan cheese to make 4 sections. Working clockwise, spread the first section with the mushrooms. Fill the next section with the artichoke heart pieces, the third with the ham and the fourth with the cheese. Place a nicoise olive in the center of each section. (If using the egg, crack into the center of the four sections and cook for 20 minutes or until the white is opaque.)

Switch to indirect heat. Return pizza to the center of the cooking grate and cook with the lid closed until bottom is well browned, toppings are warm and cheese is bubbly, about 5-10 minutes. Remove pizza from grill, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

ALL RECIPES ©ELIZABETH KARMEL 2019