The blessing and the curse of peach is that it can’t be faked. No matter how we try to manipulate, cross-breed, germinate, and coerce, a peach is a peach, and a peach only peaches when it’s good and ready. That’s why I never buy them in the grocery store, and I never buy them out of season. And also why I dream of them often in the winter. Enter Peach & Prosciutto Pizza with Smoked Goat Cheese & Basil.

Somewhere in the middle of February, I start longing for peaches; I make lists of all the things I can make with them. Y’all, I have a peach strategy and there was a resolution in January 2016 involving peaches. I don’t play around during peach season.

So, you can imagine the elation when Coach and I arrived at Chef and The Farmer, Vivian Howard’s Kinston, North Carolina restaurant, and the special was a peach pizza with country ham, smoked goat cheese, and basil. One bite and my eyes rolled back so hard I gave myself whiplash.

If you don’t know about Vivian Howard, please go watch ALL the seasons of A Chef’s Life, her television show on PBS. Then buy her cookbook, Deep Run Roots. I have worn out one copy, and am well on my way to wearing out copy number two. She’s won just about every award you can think of for her show, her cookbook, and her restaurants.

I won’t tell you much, but I will tell you this, she grew up in Deep Run, North Carolina, a tiny little town right outside of Kinston, North Carolina which is in the eastern part of the state. She has done so much to reinvigorate agriculture as well as commerce in her town, and she did it with her restaurant and her respect for the local agriculture. The show and the cookbook tell the story in her own words, so I’ll leave that to her, but I will tell you this, Coach and I planned a beach vacation around a trip to Chef and The Farmer last year, and it was one of the best meals we’ve ever had.

Making the Peach & Prosciutto Pizza

I recreated the pizza here, but I used cubed prosciutto instead of country ham, which is how it was served to us at the restaurant. If you can find country ham, I would use it, but it can be hard to get outside of the South, and prosciutto is very similar in flavor. Bacon would also work well but is definitely a different flavor.

Smoked goat cheese is available online, but it’s pricey. I have found it at our local Whole Foods as well as our local Kroger for half the price, so be sure to check at your local grocery store, and maybe even request it if the store doesn’t currently carry it. However, the goat cheese I linked is out of this world, so if you really want to do it up right, then order away.

So go grab a bag of peaches from your local peach grower, and get to it! And hey, let me know if you make it at home. I want to hear how it went. Post a picture of it on Instagram, and tag me (@healthy_southerner). And as always, use the hashtag #healthysoutherner on all your social media posts. I randomly select one each month for a giveaway.

Peach & Prosciutto Pizza with Basil & Smoked Goat Cheese

Author: Traci Keel
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 8 slices 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Last year on our anniversary, we ate the pizza of our lives at The Chef & The Farmer in Kinston, North Carolina. I’ve recreated it, and we keep it on regular rotation during peach season. It is the perfect combination of salt & sweet; smoke & char. Let me know if you make it! Take a picture and tag me on IG @healthy_southerner. Use #healthysoutherner. I love to hear from you! Especially about food.

Ingredients

Scale

Pizza Crust Dough (I buy mine at Whole Foods, but feel free to make your own)
2–4 tablespoons of peach jam
4 oz smoked goat cheese, room temperature
2–3 peaches
4 oz cubed prosciutto, browned in a skillet and fat rendered (you can use country ham here as well)
1/4 sliced red onion
3–4 Tablespoons of chopped basil (really, to taste)

Instructions

Roll out your pizza dough and place it on a baking sheet on parchment.
Spread a thin layer of peach jam over crust. You just want a hint of sweetness to cut the salt of the cheese and the prosciutto
Spread the goat cheese over crust. It can be hard to spread, so I sprinkle and flatten with my fingers
Place sliced peaches on the pizza
Spread onion slices
Sprinkle the prosciutto
Bake at 400 until crust is brown and peaches are starting to brown (about 15 minutes)
Sprinkle basil. Don’t be shy.
Drizzle balsamic reduction.
Slice and serve

Notes

I find smoked goat cheese at our local Whole Foods, and just last week I saw it at our Kroger. I have also found it online before.
Use ripe peaches, unripe peaches won’t produce much flavor
Vivian Howard’s version also used thinly sliced fresh jalapenos as a garnish. They add a perfect bite of heat.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 228
Fat: 8
Carbohydrates: 29
Fiber: 1
Protein: 11

Keywords: pizza, peaches, basil

Peach & Prosciutto Pizza w/ Smoked Goat Cheese & Basil