I thought this recipe was going to be a fail, but it turned out fantastic. The sweetness of the fruit and the honey balsamic reduction complement the salty cheese and crispy prosciutto–and pesto, of course, is beautiful on everything.
No one is more surprised that this worked than me. When I wrote the trial recipe, I envisioned pretty, delicate, carefully sliced fresh peaches on top of pesto and cheese. But I must have frozen or thawed the peaches incorrectly because when I tried to slice them, they disintegrated into a pile of pulp before my eyes. Not pretty, not even recognizable as fruit. But it was three whole peaches, so I didn’t want to waste them.
I followed my recipe as planned, grumbling the whole time about how we’d probably just have to order food in anyway, because it wasn’t going to work. I piled on the slices of fresh mozzarella and folded translucent, paper-thin prosciutto. I scooped the fruit onto the cheese and dotted the whole thing with pesto. I almost didn’t bother making the reduction at all.
It was really good. I am still surprised while I’m writing this.
Peach might seem weird on a pizza, but it works. We start with flatbread and layer on butter and garlic. Then we arranged the cheese, peaches, and prosciutto on top before we spoon generous dollops of pesto wherever we feel like it. Then just a little sprinkle of parmesan, and into the oven for about 20 minutes. While the pizzas are baking, put the honey and the vinegar in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Then, when the pizzas come out of the oven, you’ll want to drizzle (or, more realistically, splatter) them with reduction and shower on the rest of the parmesan.
That’s it. The sweetness of the fruit and the honey balsamic reduction complement the salty cheese and crispy prosciutto. Pesto is always delicious on everything, and adds pretty pops of green. You should definitely make it with proper fresh peaches instead of mushy ones, if you can—you want them to be ripe, but not overripe.
Peach, pesto & prosciutto pizzas are a colorful, summery dinner, and a great way to sneak some more fruit into your dinner. Stone fruits are in season right now and it would be a shame if we kept them in cobblers and didn’t let them live up to their full potential.
peach, pesto & prosciutto pizza with honey balsamic reduction
time: 30 minutes
serves 2
ingredients
2 flatbreads
4 tbsp butter, softened, divided
1 tsp garlic, divided
3 fresh peaches, thinly sliced (you can use thawed frozen too, but drain them and dice them small)
6 tbsp pesto
16 oz fresh mozzarella, drained and thinly sliced (shredded mozzarella works too)*
3 slices prosciutto, roughly torn
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
¾ cup parmesan, finely grated with a zester
*You’ll want to drain the mozzarella for at least a couple of hours before you use it, or your pizza will be soggy. Just get it out in the morning and set it in a strainer inside a bowl and put it all in the fridge. Or, if you’re pressed for time, you can use shredded.
directions
- Preheat oven. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/Fan 160C.
- Make pizzas. Lay the flatbreads side by side on a baking sheet. Spread 2 tbsp softened butter on each flatbread and sprinkle with ½ tsp garlic each. On each flatbread, layer the cheese, peaches, and prosciutto. Be careful not to overload the bread, and leave enough space for the crust. Dot the whole thing with dollops of pesto. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Make balsamic reduction. Add vinegar and honey to a saucepan over medium-high heat and stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Let it cool and thicken for a few minutes before you use it.
- Serve. When the pizzas are done, drizzle them with the reduction and sprinkle fresh parmesan on top.
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