Brussels Sprouts and Prosciutto Pizza
So, I’ve seen pictures of this legendary Brussels Sprouts Pizza at a local Chicago restaurant called Balena on Instagram tons of times, and every single time I think (1) I want to eat that, and (2) I bet I could make it myself.
So I finally did it! Mind you, I still haven’t actually eaten their version, but this is what I imagine it to taste like in my head. And it’s pretty awesome. I might be bragging about it for a while… woops! Here’s how you make it!
Ingredients
pizza dough
4 cups of brussels sprouts leaves
sea salt
red pepper flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 red onion
6 thin slices prosciutto
1/2 ball of fresh mozzarella
romano cheese
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the ends off the brussels and then peel the leaves off. Some of the outside leaves might be dirty, so just get rid of those. When you can’t peel any more off, either discard the core or cut into small pieces. Toss with olive oil, sea salt and red pepper flakes. If 1 tbsp of olive oil doesn’t coat the leaves, just add a little bit more. Pour onto a lined baking sheet and cook the brussels for about 15 minutes. I tossed them every 5 minutes or so, to make sure that they all got crispy and none of them got too burned.
While that’s going, dice the red onion and garlic. Saute in olive oil until tender. Remove from heat.
Now… you could use your own dough, but I usually get it from the pizza counter at Plum Market. It’s super fresh and saves me a lot of time. Bad food blogger? Maybe. Pracitical? Yup. All you have to do is roll it out and bake it at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Make sure prick it a few times with your fork before putting it in.
Now line up your ingredients! You need the sautéed onions, the roasted brussels, prosciutto, mozzarella and romano.
Start by laying a few slices of prosciutto over the the dough. Then pull apart the mozzarella and place those pieces on top, along with the onions and garlic.
Then spread the brussels right over the top. Pull apart and crumple the extra pieces of prosciutto and nestle those in between the brussels.
Sprinkle with romano (or parmesan) and pop it in a 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes.
The prosciutto on the bottom melts into the dough with the cheese, while the pieces on top get super crispy and salty.
And you can obviously sprinkle more cheese on top when it comes out of the oven. Why not?
Holy yum. There’s vegetables in this… so it’s super healthy, right??
Yes, I had to taste test mid-shoot. It was tauntinggg me.
Enjoy!
February 20, 2015 @ 1:51 pm
This looks SO GOOD! And all these ingredients can be easily found at Trader Joe's. Can't wait to try this!
February 28, 2015 @ 3:15 pm
We need a Balena date! This looks so good! XX Kat
March 19, 2015 @ 7:58 pm
Hi there!!! So glad I found you! Thank you for linking with us at #FoodyFriDIY! I am also a Chicago girl! Been to Balena myself but never had this pizza! Now I may need to go! Again, wonderful stumbling upon you thrilled to find a fellow Chi-town blogger!
March 24, 2015 @ 8:13 pm
Just finding your blog today and this pizza looks yummy. 2 questions.
Is precooking the Brussels leaves needed? They look well done – NOT A NEGATIVE COMMENT here. I roast them all of the time, but leave them a little less. Just wondered if they wouldn't cook enough if I used the ones tossed in oil on top of the pizza vs. cooking first. 2. Do I need a pizza stone? You didn't mention if you cooked right on the rack or on a cookie sheet.
Excited to try this new twist on healthy pizza. It really looks delicious!
March 25, 2015 @ 9:15 pm
Thanks so much for stopping by Lake Shore Lady and commenting! To be honest – no, you don't need to pre-cook the Brussels. I personally like them really crispy, so that's why I pre-cooked them. Because it is just the leaves, they would still get crispy without pre-cooking, just mostly around the edges instead of the whole leaf. It's just a preference! 2) You don't need a pizza stone! I just used a cookie sheet and it worked great! Let me know if you try it 🙂