Prosciutto-Grilled Peach Pizza With Pesto Recipe
With peach season in full force, let's celebrate this delicious time of year with the ultimate summer pizza. Juicy, ripe peaches come together with salty prosciutto and earthy pesto for the perfect sweet and savory combination while melted fontina adds a creamy touch of decadence.
How to Make the Best Prosciutto-Grilled Peach Pizza With Pesto
This prosciutto-grilled peach pizza celebrates the peak of summer with a perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors. The charred peaches bring a caramelized sweetness that pairs beautifully with the salty prosciutto, while the pesto adds an earthy herbaceous note that ties everything together. Fontina cheese provides a creamy, luxurious base that melts into all the delicious toppings.
What makes this pizza special is the grilling step—it adds a wonderful char and concentration of flavor to the peaches that you simply can’t get from using them raw. The combination of fresh basil as a garnish and the homemade or store-bought pesto creates layers of basil flavor that complement both the fruit and the ham. This is the perfect pizza to make during peak peach season when you can find truly ripe, juicy peaches at the farmer’s market.
Whether you’re hosting a summer dinner party or simply treating yourself to an elevated weeknight meal, this prosciutto-grilled peach pizza is sure to impress. It’s elegant enough for entertaining yet straightforward enough for a regular weeknight dinner. The key is taking your time with stretching the dough and using quality ingredients—especially the peaches and the fontina cheese.
Prosciutto-Grilled Peach Pizza With Pesto
With peach season in full force, let's celebrate this delicious time of year with the ultimate summer pizza. Juicy, ripe peaches come together with salty prosciutto and earthy pesto for the perfect sweet and savory combination while melted fontina adds a creamy touch of decadence.
Ingredients
Pizza Base
Toppings
Egg Wash
Garnish
Instructions
Prepare Dough
- If using dough stored in the refrigerator, place on a lightly floured surface, gently press into a 5-inch flat circle and cover with plastic wrap about two to three hours before you plan to bake the pizza. If you made your dough right away and it's already risen and come to room temperature, skip to the next step.
Preheat and Grill Peaches
- About 45 minutes to an hour before baking, place a pizza stone in the cold oven and turn the heat to 500 degrees. If you don't have a pizza stone, you can use a large baking sheet and preheat for 30 minutes, though a pizza stone is recommended for best results.
- Heat a grill over high heat and grease the grates with canola oil. Cut the peaches into slices, wedges or halves for grilling. Brush peaches with additional canola oil.
- Place on hot grill and cook until char marks appear to your liking. Remove from heat. If you grilled the peaches in wedges or halves, cut into slices. If you want to remove the peach skin, it should be easy to pull off at this point. Cover and reserve peaches for pizza.
Shape Dough
- Hand stretch the dough using the bed of your fingers rather than your finger tips to pat the dough outward toward the edge. Don't pat in the center of the dough, or you'll get limp pizza.
- Grab the edge of the pizza and lift it in the air. Allow it to quickly hang down and keep rotating the pizza crust through your fingers. Do not use a rolling pin to shape and flatten. The dough is stretched when it's 10 inches in diameter. If any holes form, pinch the dough back together.
Assemble and Bake
- Coat a pizza peel or the back of a parchment paper-covered baking sheet with cornmeal and place the hand-stretched dough on top. Adjust the shape if necessary.
- Spread pesto on the dough, leaving an edge for the crust. Top with fontina and then add the red onion. Whisk together the egg yolk and water and brush on the crust. Transfer to the hot pizza stone.
- If using parchment paper on a baking sheet, grab the edge of the parchment paper and slide the pizza from the baking sheet to the pizza stone. Bake for two minutes, remove the parchment paper and then continue to bake for six to eight minutes. If using a pizza peel, bake for eight to 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Because pesto is oil-based, oil will rise to the top. Take a paper towel and gently place on top to soak up oil. Top with prosciutto and peaches.
- Let the pizza set for about five minutes. Cut into slices and top with fresh basil if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- For best results, use a pizza stone rather than a baking sheet.
- Freshly grated fontina cheese works best for even melting.
- You can make or buy pesto—both work wonderfully in this recipe.