Tapas Pizza by NPR

I didn't intend to serve this as a tapa (although it could be), but rather to combine some of my favorite tapas ingredients such as Serrano ham, olives and Manchego cheese into a pizza. The avocado may not be traditional, but its richness works beautifully with the other strong flavors. Piquillos are a type of roasted red pepper from Spain with a sweet-spicy flavor. You can find them in specialty stores, online at tienda.com or sold by the Goya brand in many supermarkets. Baking the dough on a pizza stone creates a crisp crust just like you would get at a pizzeria that uses a very hot stone or clay oven. Pizza stones are inexpensive and available at most kitchen stores.

Makes 1 (14-inch) pizza

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon more for dough
1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 recipe pizza dough (see WholeWheatPizzaDough)
1 tablespoon coarse yellow cornmeal
Flour
4 ounces Manchego cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler or grated (about 1 cup)
6 thin slices Serrano ham, torn into 2-inch pieces (substitute prosciutto or smoked ham if unavailable)
10 piquillo peppers, sliced into 3 or 4 pieces each (substitute roasted red bell peppers if unavailable)
1/3 cup Spanish or Greek olives, roughly chopped
3/4 large avocado, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Instructions:

Place a pizza stone in the center of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon cornmeal onto a large sheet of parchment paper, place the dough on top and pat it into an oval. Lightly dust dough and rolling pin with flour and roll dough out into a round shape, roughly 14 inches wide. Spread remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the dough and sprinkle remaining cornmeal around the edges.

Top the pizza with the Manchego, Serrano ham, sautéed onion, piquillo peppers and olives. Transfer the pizza to the oven by lifting the parchment paper and placing the paper directly onto the pizza stone. Bake for 10 minutes or until the crust starts to brown. Arrange sliced avocado on the pizza, sprinkle with parsley and serve.