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You could say this Tomato, Mozzarella & Arugula Naan Pizza I made is sort of a cross between a caprese pizza and a BLT. It has tomatoes, mozzarella, pancetta and arugula all on top of naan bread. Oh YUMMMM!
I think some of my best creations happen when I’m trying to use up what’s in the refrigerator before going out of town. Like this pizza. I bought a big bag of baby arugula to make a Watermelon, Cucumber & Burrata Salad and didn’t use all the arugula. Instead of letting it sit in the refrigerator and get mushy while I was gone, I decided to make something else with it for dinner. I wasn’t really in the mood for another salad though. I was thinking maybe some sort of pasta would be delish. In the end, I decided to use up a couple random pieces of naan I had taking up space in my tiny freezer. So pizza it was!
Lucky for me I also had some beautiful tomatoes, both colorful grape tomatoes and regular sized tomatoes, from the farmers market and some fresh mozzarella cheese that I had planned on making a caprese salad with, but never got around to making. Oh well, it sounded perfect to use for this pizza instead. I also discovered a package of diced pancetta in the fridge. Who knows what I originally bought that for? I cooked up the pancetta and used it to top off the pizza. That’s where the caprese meets BLT…as in bacon (close enough, eh?). Yeah, I know arugula isn’t quite like the lettuce in a typical BLT, in fact it’s not even in the lettuce family, but it is green and frequently used in salads like lettuce so I’m making the connection here.
I made this Tomato, Mozzarella & Arugula Naan Pizza two ways for comparison. The first was on a baking sheet in the oven, with the larger tomatoes sliced. This method produces a softer crust. Then I tried making another pizza with the grape tomatoes on a pizza screen for a crisper crust. I like to use my pizza screen because I prefer a crisper crust. You could also bake the pizzas on a pizza stone if you have one of those.
The finishing touch on this Tomato, Mozzarella & Arugula Naan Pizza is a healthy drizzle of one of my favorite things on earth…Balsamic Glaze. You gotta get yourself some of this magic in a bottle. It’s crazy good!!! For those of you wondering what Balsamic glaze is, it’s basically a balsamic vinegar reduction. It’s thick and oh so yummy! You can make your own, but I haven’t done that yet so I don’t have a recipe to offer you.
PrintTomato, Mozzarella & Arugula Naan Pizza
Ingredients
- Naan bread – 1 piece per person
- tomatoes, sliced – 3 slices per pizza (or use grape tomatoes, cut in half)
- fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced – 3 slices per pizza
- 1 bag baby arugula
- 5 oz. container diced pancetta (or use regular bacon if you prefer)
- Balsamic glaze to drizzle on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Cook pancetta (or bacon) in pan until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside and keep warm.
- Brush both sides of naan bread with a little olive oil, then place on baking sheet. If you want a crispier pizza, place the naan on a pizza screen. Top each piece of naan with a couple tomatoes and slices of mozzarella cheese. Bake about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.
- Top each pizza with a handful of arugula and sprinkle pancetta on top.
- Drizzle with balsamic glaze*
- *Balsamic glaze is reduced balsamic vinegar. You can purchase it at the grocery store.