Fig and Paneer Pizza

Paneer and Fig Pizza – One of the best-selling items on the menu at Domino’s in Delhi is their pizza topped with chicken tikka. Yes, Indians do love pizza and it is very much a part of the modern Indian food scene. But it is nothing new. My mother has made “pizza” since I was about five years old. She used a simple home-made dough topped with my choice of chicken or vegetables. She used a home made tomato sauce. It was not called pizza of course. I called it chicken wali roti (a chicken bread). When my son was younger, I took him to an eatery/children’s play area in Delhi called Eatopia. They serve a very popular version of Indian pizza called a Naanza—a naan dough topped with tandoori chicken or a variety of vegetarian toppings. We both fell in love with it. And it really is the same concept as a regular pizza – great dough with the choicest of toppings. (Incidentally, Zante’s in San Francisco has sold Indian pizza since 1993. And California Pizza Kitchen serves a mango–tandoori chicken pizza. I could go on and on.)

I call this a gentle pizza – the flavors are mild yet so satisfying. This dish is sweet thanks to the figs which are, I think, the world’s sweetest fruit. While paneer gives this dish a unique taste, it is not a melting cheese. I have added some ricotta to make the topping a bit creamier.

Now this dish depends only on one thing – the ripeness of the fresh figs. If the figs are not sweet, the dish will not taste good no matter what you do. If figs are not in season, I would recommend dried Nutra figs. They are moist and really, really sweet.

Serves 4
Cook Time: 20 minutes

1 - 12-inch pre-packaged pizza crust (or use a crust from home-made pizza dough)

For the topping:
1 cup store-bought paneer, crumbled (use a cheese grater)
1 cup ricotta cheese
8-10 very ripe figs, trimmed and thinly sliced
Table salt to taste
1/8t teaspoon ground white pepper
8-10 basil leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Spray the crust with a mist of oil.
3. In a bowl combine the paneer and ricotta and mix well.
4. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the crust.
5. Top with the figs, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Bake according to the directions given with the crust, usually about 10-12 minutes. The cheese will brown a little but it is NOT a melting cheese so don’t expect it to bubble.
7. Serve topped with fresh basil leaves. If your figs are really ripe, this will taste like a dessert!

Complementary Wines: Gewürztraminer: Late Harvest, Gewürztraminer: Late Harvest, Gewürztraminer: Late Harvest, Gewürztraminer: Late Harvest

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Fig and Paneer Pizza

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