POACHED PEAR FLATBREAD WITH HONEY WHIPPED RICOTTA

There's a place in Pittsburgh called Threadbare that makes great cider and has new pizzas every few months depending on what's in season. I love them. This flatbread is loosely based on an apple and ricotta pizza we had there a couple years ago that I couldn't stop thinking about. I tried to recreate it and even though I couldn't get it right, I came up with this in the process so it's a win!

Ingredients are listed in the order they appear in the recipe and anything that requires prep is in bold. Ingredients are bolded in the directions when you first encounter them as well as when they are reintroduced after being set aside. All ingredients are Capitalized.

Source recipes: The Mediterranean Dish & Evergreen Kitchen

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INGREDIENTS:

Poached Pears:

2 large Oranges, 1 juiced, 1 sliced

6 medium Pears, cut in half and seeded

2 cups Red Wine (such as Pinot Noir)

8 Whole Cloves

1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

1 Cinnamon Stick

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cardamom

Honey Whipped Ricotta:

1 cup Ricotta Cheese (whole milk recommended)

1 Tablespoon Extra-virgin Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon fine Sea Salt

2 Tablespoons Honey

2 to 3 teaspoons fresh Thyme leaves

Black Pepper (to taste)

Pizza:

1 Pillsbury Pizza Crust

8 to 10 slices of Capicola

1 BelGioioso pre-sliced fresh Mozzarella cheese log or sliced Provolone

1 small Red Onion, thinly sliced

1 Tablespoon Rosemary

Salted Honey Butter Torani Syrup, Honey or Red Wine Syrup* to drizzle

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TOOLS:

Baking tray

Non-reactive pot

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DIRECTIONS:

To make the Poached Pears:

Juice one of the Oranges and pour the Juice in a medium bowl. Slice the remaining Orange into 1/4 inch rounds.

With a vegetable peeler, peel all 6 Pears. Cut the Pears in half lengthwise. Use a melon baller to remove the core. Add the Pears to the bowl with the Orange Juice and toss to coat.

Prepare a non-reactive pot that can fit all the Pears snuggly. Add 1 sliced Orange, 2 cups Red Wine, 8 Whole Cloves, 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar, 1 Cinnamon Stick, 1/4 tsp Ground Cardamom

Over medium-high heat, bring the liquid to a rolling boil, then lower the heat and add in the Pears and Orange Juice. Cover and let simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes, occasionally rotating them using a wooden spoon, until the Pears have softened enough and a skewer inserted in the middle of a Pear at the thickest part meets no resistance.

Remove Pear from poaching liquid and let cool to room temperature. Once cooled, cut the Pears into 1/8 inch slices.

*if you plan to use Torani syrup or Honey for your drizzle you can skip to the next section

To make the Red Wine Syrup:

Once the Pears are removed from the cooled down poaching liquid, strain the poaching liquid to remove the Orange and Spices. Press down gently, but make sure not to get any pulp from the fruit and discard.

Place the strained liquid in the pot. Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to gently boil the Red Wine liquid until it reduces to a thin syrup. Taste the syrup and add more Sugar to taste. The syrup will thicken more as it cools.

The cooking time depends on how much liquid is left and how much Sugar is in the liquid, so keep an eye on it. If the syrup is too thick, add a little water to thin it out.

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To make the Honey Whipped Ricotta:

In a bowl add 1 cup Ricotta Cheese,1 Tbsp Extra-virgin Olive Oil, 1/2 tsp fine Sea Salt and 2 Tbsp Honey. Whip until smooth and fluffy using an electric mixer or whisk.

Mix in 2 to 3 teaspoons fresh Thyme leaves and Black Pepper to taste.

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To make the Pizza:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll 1 Pillsbury Pizza Crust completely. Put in oven for 8 minutes. Remove from oven once the flatbread is done prebaking.

Spread the Honey Whipped Ricotta on the dough the same way you would add sauce to pizza dough, leaving room around the edges. You can make this a thick or thin layer based on preference.

Layer Poached Pear slices, 8 to 10 pieces of Capicola, 1 BelGioioso pre-sliced fresh Mozzarella cheese log or sliced Provolone, thinly sliced Red Onion, and 1 Tablespoon Rosemary over the Honey Whipped Ricotta and drizzle with Salted Honey Butter Torani Syrup, Honey or Red Wine Syrup. The amount of each topping is completely up to you.

Return to oven to continue baking for 6 to 10 minutes. If the cheese doesn't get bubbly, place the flatbread under the broiler for a minute or two while watching closely. Can be eaten right away or allowed to cool and served cold.