A delightful pizza bianca to enjoy when zucchini is in season, pizza with marinated zucchini and prosciutto combines the saltiness of prosciutto with the tang of lemon-marinated zucchini. It does not feature any tomato sauce, as it is a pizza bianca, but has dollops of cream cheese for extra creaminess and flavour.
While I personally think that the prosciutto adds a nice salty depth to the overall flavour of this pizza, you can easily omit it to make it completely vegetarian. If omitting the prosciutto, I would probably add more cream cheese dollops, as those up the salty flavour at every bite.
Cream cheese on pizza? This may sound like a weird ingredient to add, but I promise it gives a really nice touch. If you're not a big fan, you may as well skip it altogether. Or sub it with mascarpone for a more gourmet alternative! But in this case I prefer cream cheese (and not fancier mascarpone) because I'm after some salt.
Ingredients and equipment
- Pizza dough - store-bought or homemade
- Mozzarella - to be shredded. If using a ball, remember to let it sit on a colander once shredded, to remove excess liquid
- Prosciutto - or similar, for example you can use serrano
- Zucchini - choose small, preferably one that has no seeds
- Lemon - you will need it juiced, so just juice is an option
- Olive oil - it really gives a nice flavour to the zucchini marinade
- Cream cheese - I recommend unflavoured
- Salt
For detailed quantities please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
For slicing the zucchini you will need a knife and cutting board, alternatively a mandoline (what I have used) or a food processor. A grater with large holes to shred the mozzarella, and a colander to let it drip. A lemon juicer. A pizza pan or pizza stone for baking the pizza.
How to make pizza with marinated zucchini and prosciutto
1. Thinly slice the zucchini and place in a bowl. Add the salt, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss to thoroughly season the sliced zucchini.
2. Stretch pizza dough to desired thickness and top with shredded mozzarella. Place the marinated zucchini over the mozzarella, slightly overlapping and covering the whole surface.
3. Bake in the pre-heated oven at 230°C (480°F) for 8-10 minutes or until the sides have nicely browned. Take out of the oven and immediately top with prosciutto slices and cream cheese dollops.
Pizza with marinated zucchini tips
I normally recommend to bake pizza in the lowest part of the oven, if possible by choosing to only have the heat from the bottom. This conveys a nice heat on the bottom that cooks the dough to perfection. The combination of marinated zucchini and mozzarella, though, may release some water during baking. So this particular pizza benefits from getting heat from the top and bottom, placed in the middle of the oven.
This pizza topping suggestion goes well both on pizza and on pinsa! Nowadays stores usually carry great pinsa as well as really good pizza dough. If you like to make your own dough, may I suggest you try my homemade pizza dough recipe, that yields one pizza. I also have a poolish pizza dough that feeds more people but also requires a few more hours to make. It's a nice weekend project if you please!
The marinated zucchini used on this pizza is a delicious side dish in itself. So if you end up making more than you need (if your zucchini is large), keep any leftovers and enjoy them as a side salad, either to your pizza or to your next meal. Just keep it refrigerated in an airtight lunchbox for later.
Further pizza bianca inspiration!
You don't always need tomato sauce on pizza! I am a big fan of pizza bianca, and I have absolutely nothing against a good Margherita as a base. But some flavours don't always necessarily go with tomato. So if you are looking for further inspiration when it comes to toppings to pizza without tomato sauce, here are some selected recipes for you. Click on the images below to access more recipes.
If you tried this recipe, let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you're planning to try it another time, pin this recipe to Pinterest. Please consider subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Instagram and on Pinterest.
Pizza with marinated zucchini and prosciutto
Equipment
- Mandoline
- Bowl
- Pizza pan
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough
- 1 zucchini small
- 125 g mozzarella
- 50 g prosciutto
- 50 g cream cheese
- 1 lemon juiced
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Shred the mozzarella ball using a grater with large holes, place in a colander and let drip excess water for 10 minutes. Skip if using pre-shredded.
- Thinly slice the zucchini and place in a bowl. Add the salt, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss to thoroughly season the sliced zucchini.
- Stretch pizza dough to desired thickness and top with shredded mozzarella. Place the marinated zucchini over the mozzarella, slightly overlapping and covering the whole surface.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven at 230°C (480°F) for 8-10 minutes or until the sides have nicely browned. Take out of the oven and immediately top with prosciutto slices and cream cheese dollops.
