This Prosciutto di Parma Pizza with Arugula and Grana Padano is super easy to whip up, with a simple brushing of olive oil and garlic in lieu of a complicated sauce. It is layered with texture and flavour, richness and brightness. Love this pizza recipe. Sponsored by Icons of European Taste, funded by the European Union.

This pizza is an example of how simple cooking can be if you use quality ingredients. The “sauce” is simply olive oil and fresh garlic, brushed onto a char-cooked thin crust with mozzarella and Grana Padano cheese. Thinly-sliced Prosciutto di Parma is layered on top, along with a handful of bitter arugula tossed with olive oil and lemon juice. Thin shavings of more Grana Padano finish the pizza for a final dish that combines sweet, nutty flavours, richness and brightness in a perfectly-balanced, delicious bite.

Ingredient details:

• Grana Padano and Prosciutto di Parma are both held to high production standards, PDO protected and perfect for everyday meals and occasions. PDO (Product of Designated Origin) guarantees high quality and that a product has been made in a particular region according to authentic tradition. 

• Prosciutto di Parma is produced using only two ingredients – 100% Italian pork and sea salt. It is the terroir and the climate of the Parma region that gives this ham its unique look and flavour. It has been aged for a minimum of 400 days. Talk about crafted with love. When purchasing at the deli counter ask the clerk to show you the Parma Crown, or look for it on the package if buying pre-sliced.

• Grana Padano is Italy’s most popular hard grating cheese. “Grana” actually means hard grating cheese and “Padano” refers to the region in Northern Italy where the cheese must be produced. Like all authentic PDO-certified products, Grana Padano is made under strict supervision using the same traditional methods used by the monks who created this cheese over 1,000 years ago. Isn’t that amazing?

• Arugula adds a fresh counterpoint and bitter bite to the cut the rich flavours of the cheese and ham. A squeeze of lemon really finishes the dish with a bright acidity to round it all out.

How to Make this Pizza

• I love to use a secret hack to making wood-fired oven style pizza at home, as in my Ultimate Homemade Pizza Dough recipe. You could also make a super-speedy weeknight version with store-bought dough.

• I pre-cook the pizza crust to get it crisp and a bit charred before layering on the garlic oil, mozzarella and Grana Padano cheeses and baking until melted.

• Only once the pizza is cooked do we top with Prosciutto di Parma, lightly-dressed greens and more Grana Padano to finish.
  

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