Want to make something different tonight? How about Pizza Parma Ham and Rucola, sounds delicious, right? This recipe takes a little bit of time to prep, but its worth all the work you put into.

What you need for the pizza dough:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• salt
• 1/2 tsp yeast
• 2 tsp olive oil

1. Combine 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add warm water (120° to 130° F) and oil. Mix together until well blended; knead about 10 minute until dough forms a ball. Cover the dough foil, let rest for 45 minutes.

Continue with your tomato sauce while the dough is resting…

Did you find the ingredients for the tomato sauce (top right)? Ok, let’s move on…

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 onion (100g)
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 can diced tomatoes (400g)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 sprinkles chili flakes
• sea salt and pepper

2. Dice the onion and garlic, saute in a pan with oil for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and brown sugar, cook under constant stirring for about 1 minute. Add 1 can diced tomatoes and 200ml water. Let cook everything for 30 minutes, add oregano, chilli flakes, sea salt and pepper for taste.

Topping ingredients:

• 400g Mozzarella
• 120g Rucola
• 150g Emmental cheese
• 120g Parma Ham (thin sliced)

3. Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour (if you don’t have a stone, a regular pizza baking sheet will do just fine).

4. Remove the plastic cover from the dough and punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the dough in 4. Form two round balls of dough. Cover each lightly with plastic and let sit for 10 minutes.

5. Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter – 10 to 11 inches. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. You can pinch the very edges if you want to form a lip.

6. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil. Use your finger tips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest another 5 minutes. Repeat with the second, third and forth ball of dough.

7. Spoon on the tomato sauce, add mozzarella and Emmental cheese, the rucola salad, parma ham and some olive oil goes on top after the baking.

8. Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in the oven. Slide the pizza off of the peel and on to the baking stone in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes.

Bon appetit!