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French in a Flash: Pizza Savoyarde
When you think of Savoy, think of the Alps. There is something about the chill of a mountain that encourages you to eat your way into a pot-bellied stove, as if eating the food will lend you the experience of baking with it in a very warm and cozy place. Perhaps that is why anything "savoyarde" seems to contain three very comforting ingredients: gooey and smelly Reblochon cheese, potatoes, and ham—like tartiflette. It's hearty and perfect for winter.
Ironically, my first taste of Savoy was in a small seaside town in Provence called Cassis during the height of summer. I parked myself at a little crêpe establishment, and after some consideration, ordered the crêpe savoyarde. The crêpe was stuffed with running Reblochon cheese and potatoes, and on top of the envelope-fold of crêpe was placed a drape of jambon cru, like prosciutto. It was rich and wholesome and far too heavy for summer, so that I staggered back up the hot, hot hill to my house, feeling more like I resembled a snowman than a girl. But the crêpe's flavors worked so well together that I thought to myself instantly, "I want to make this into a pizza."
And sure enough, fresh off the plane, I started reconstructing my pizza savoyarde, crusting the pizza dough with scales of paper thin-sliced potatoes and planks of Savoy cheese. When they were crusty and crisp, I saddled the pizza with an avalanche of arugula and a blanket of Jambon de Bayonne. It was perfect—a mix between the very rich and the very fresh. It had heft, it had bite, and it was unusual: a white pizza with the unmistakable flavor, and odor, of France.
I was thrilled to share my original masterpiece with you all. But when I went to Google "pizza savoyarde" earlier today to refresh my grammatical memory as to the gender of "pizza" in French, I saw millions of pizza savoyarde recipes pop up on the screen! Turns out this week's recipe is more authentic—and less inspired—than I originally thought. Where others put crème fraîche, I put arugula, just to gently lighten the load. But be careful: as with tartiflette and crêpe savoyarde, it's a slippery Alpine slope to finding you've eaten the entire thing.
About the author: Kerry Saretsky is the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way. She also writes the The Secret Ingredient series for Serious Eats.
French in a Flash: Pizza Savoyarde
About This Recipe
| This recipe appears in: | This Week In Recipes |
Ingredients
- 1 1-pound ball of pizza dough
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 large Yukon gold potato, sliced 1/8-inch thick on a mandolin
- 1 scant tablespoon melted unsalted butter
- 6 slices jambon cru (Jambon de Bayonne or Prosciutto)
- 2 cups baby arugula
- Salt and pepper
Procedures
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1
Preheat the oven to 500°F.
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Using some bench flour to prevent sticking, roll the pizza dough out to a 16 by 14-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
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Arrange the potato slices so they overlap all over the surface of the pizza, again respecting the 1-inch crust. Brush with the melted butter, and season with salt and pepper.
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Bake in the oven at 500°F for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and starting to go golden, and the crust is puffed and crisp and cooked.
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Arrange the jambon cru on the bias over the top of the pizza. Scatter with arugula, and drizzle with a touch of olive oil. Cut into squares, and serve.
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