Best Fusion Recipes- Fig & Paneer Pizza

This recipe is borrowed from my friend Monica Bhide, who is a highly successful cookbook author and speaker. Monica is one of the kindest, most talented people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and her recipes have won her a well deserved large fan base internationally. Her recipe starts with her personal intro of this unique Fig & Paneer Pizza.

Yes, Indians do love pizza and it is very much a part of the modern Indian food scene. I call this a gentle pizza, the flavors are mild yet so satisfying. Now this dish depends only on one thing- the ripeness of the fresh figs. If the figs are not sweet, the dish will not taste good no matter what you do. If figs are not in season, I would recommend dried Nutra figs. They are moist and really, really sweet.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

One 12-inch pre-packaged pizza crust (or use a crust from home-made pizza dough)

1 cup store-bought paneer (Indian cheese), crumbled (use a cheese grater)

1 cup ricotta cheese

8-10 very ripe figs, trimmed and thinly sliced

Table salt to taste

1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper

8-10 basil leaves

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Spray the crust with a mist of oil.

In a bowl combine the paneer and ricotta and mix well. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the crust. Top with the figs, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake according to the directions given with the crust, usually about 10-12 minutes. The cheese will brown a little but it is NOT a melting cheese so don’t expect it to bubble. Serve topped with fresh basil leaves. If your figs are really ripe, this will taste like a dessert!