Some viral TikTok recipes are just for show, but sometimes, they make you wonder if you’ve been eating something the wrong way all along. I give you: the Pizza Sandwich. Pizza crust baked to perfection and stuffed with anything you’d put on a sandwich. In this case, we’re loading ours up with an asparagus avocado pesto, roasted tomatoes, crispy prosciutto and, the crowd fav, burrata. If you already eat your pizza folded, this will be a no brainer, and if you don’t, this might just convert you.
Start preheating your pizza stone and set the oven to 400°F (205°C). Arrange the oven racks so one is closest to the bottom of the oven and the other is in the center. Add a pizza stone, large cast iron skillet, or inverted sheet pan into the cold oven to slowly come to temp and get hot.
Make the roasted tomatoes. To a sheet pan, add the tomatoes, 1 tsp of olive oil and a big pinch of salt, then toss and roast on the center rack of the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the tomatoes have softened and started to brown. Remove from the oven, then add 1 tsp of garlic and toss. Set aside.
Make the crispy prosciutto. To another sheet pan lined with parchment, arrange your prosciutto slices so they’re not touching each other. When the tomatoes are done in the oven, replace with the pan of prosciutto and bake for 10 minutes, or until the prosciutto is deeply reddish-brown and has shrunk in size. Remove from the oven and transfer to a paper towel to finish crisping up.
While the tomatoes are roasting, make the pesto. To a food processor, add all ingredients under “Avocado Asparagus Pesto” along with a big pinch of salt and process, scraping down the edges as needed, until you have a nice pesto consistency (whatever you like). Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
Raise the oven temp to 500°F (260°C) and prepare the dough. On a lightly floured surface, use lightly floured fingertips to press into the center of the dough and up to about a ½ inch (1.25cm) from the top and bottom edge, then rotate the dough 45 degrees and repeat until you have a smaller but clear pizza crust shape. Use lightly floured fingers/hands to stretch the center of the dough either by pulling from one end while holding the other or by picking the dough up, holding it with your fingertips by the edges, and rotating, allowing gravity to help stretch the dough. Continue stretching until the disc is 11 inches (28cm) in diameter, then brush the center of the dough with 2 tsp of olive oil. Carefully transfer the dough to the preheated pizza stone, cast iron or inverted sheet pan so half of the dough is in contact with the pan, then fold the other half of the dough on top to create a half circle. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
Assemble. To the inside of the cooked crust “pocket”, schmear on all your pesto, then add the crispy prosciutto and burrata (torn open to expose the creamy guts). Sprinkle the burrata with flaky salt if you’d like, then use a slotted spoon to add the cherry tomatoes. Drizzle on some balsamic reduction if you’d like, otherwise just cut in half crosswise and enjoy immediately!
Notes
This is a pretty messy sandwich, so if you’d like to make it a little less messy, you can squeeze more of the liquid from the tomatoes before adding them in, and/or you can use fresh mozzarella instead of burrata. Either way, it’s delicious! Enjoy!
I'm a big eater, a huge fan of pasta (and mac n cheese), and I'm on a mission to prove that indulgence and balance can exist well together without silly restrictions or dieting. Life's too short to eat bad food!
