Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza - Blogger Food Party

It's time for another edition of the Blogger Food Party, my once-a-month-ish feature where a group of us make and share recipes on the same day. Are you ready for a slew of delicious pizza? I have a version for you, and at the bottom of the post are links to the other five drool-worthy offerings from my friends. Can you think of a better way to kick off a Monday? I don't think there is one. (Maybe if pizzas started coming with a little baggie of gemstones, but that's unlikely.)

Anyhoodle, I used this party as a chance to branch out with our toppings. Normally I stick with an assortment of classic veggies, but time I tried prosciutto and arugula:

We've had this combination at restaurants a couple of times and it's DELICIOUS. I was a little worried about replicating it at home, but I found a recipe that made it surprisingly easy. I ended up changing it slightly, so here's my adaptation. All you need are five ingredients and about 15 minutes:

Gather your supplies:
-- thin crust pizza dough (I used 365 Everyday Value from Whole Foods, it's pre-baked!)
-- 4 oz. tomato sauce
-- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
-- 4 to 5 slices of prosciutto
-- handful of arugula leaves (mine were on the large side so I cut them up)

1. If you're using raw dough or making your own, follow the instructions for pre-baking if necessary. Mine was ready to go out of the package (boo ya!) so I layered on the sauce, mozzarella, and prosciutto. Some of my cheese is under the prosciutto and some is on top.

2. This pizza is best with a thin crust, cooked for a short time under high heat. I used Hubsey's pizza-cooking contraption that he bought in college (called the Pizzaz), but if you're normal and use an oven, 6 to 7 minutes at 500 degrees should do the trick. The cheese will be bubbling when it's ready.

3. Take the pizza out of the oven (or off of the Pizzaz) and sprinkle on the arugula. The heat from the food will wilt the leaves slightly, so there's no need to put it back in the oven. All you have to do now is enjoy!

Arugula has a nice peppery flavor, some people might even call it spicy, and it's my favorite part of this dish. I can't stress enough how easy this was to make, yet the unusual toppings make it felt like an elevated version. It tasted like it took longer to make than it did, which is what I aim for. You want something delicious and kind of fancy, but don't want to spend five hours doing it? This is your pizza.

Be sure to check out the other Blogger Party participants! Everybody made a different recipe and it will be fun to see what they tried:

Kristen from Milo and Molly
Marilyn from Pulp Sushi
Meg from 18 Preson
Kelsey from Be LIke the Fox

What do you like on your pizza? Anybody else branching out lately? Are you also a "cheater" who uses pre-made dough?