Thursday, October 12, 2017

Peach, Pesto, Proscuitto and Chicken Pizza by Linda Wiken, author




On a beautiful fall day in September, my gal pals aka The Ladies’ Killing Circle and I, did the two-hour drive from Ottawa to a scenic old hotel at Chaffey’s Locks, one of the innumerable locks on the Rideau River system in Ontario, Canada   

The hotel has just been totally renovated and since we’d each been there at some point in its previous life (in fact one of our group had worked there as a teen a couple of summers), we  were anxious to see how it had been transformed.



That’s the word for it! It still retained the outer gracefulness of its bygone days while inside, totally up-to-date shine. 










 








The Opinicon had always been renowned for its restaurant and this new version fully met the challenge of upholding that tradition.

I was so taken with my choice, a peach, pesto, pancetta and chicken personal-sized piazza, that I was determined to re-create it at home. I came close but it didn’t quite measure up to the Opinicon touch. Not that I won’t make it again. And again.

Here’s how I did it, with the addition of black olives, and substituting prosciutto because that’s what I found in my fridge. And, I used Asiago cheese, also because it’s my go-to taste. I admit to taking many shortcuts. Rather than make my usual basil-pine nut pesto, I bought some. The chicken I used were frozen baked chicken strips that I then cut smaller. And, since I try to avoid wheat in my diet whenever possible, I started with a gluten-free pizza crust that I found in the frozen food section at the health food store.

These ingredients were for one small pizza. Be sure to adjust if you’re going for a bigger size.



What you need:

2 heaping tablespoons pesto

1 large peach, sliced

3 strips prosciutto


6 strips chicken, sliced in one-inch length

4 large mushrooms, sliced 

 1/2 c. diced black olives

1/2 c. grated Asiago cheese

1 pizza crust






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 What to do:

1. Preheat oven according to directions on the pizza crust package or the recipe you are using for a crust made from scratch.

2. Preheat grill to medium heat.

3. Lightly brush peach slices with olive oil and place on the grill for approx. 3 minutes each side.

4. Saute the frozen chicken strips briefly. If starting with raw chicken, the saute until done to your liking.
5. Start layering the pizza - pesto, prosciutto, chicken, mushrooms, and black olives. Sprinkle the grated Asiago cheese over top.

6. Bake according to instructions for the crust. 
  



Enjoy!


2 comments:

  1. I remember that fabulous day! Now I can have the pizza too. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Even mediocre peaches shine when grilled.
    Clever idea.

    ReplyDelete