When I was in Toronto, I saw some gorgeous fresh figs for sale at the market across from our hotel. I debated buying them and bringing them home with me because I’ve been wanting to make this pizza for ages. I wasn’t sure about the shelf life of fresh figs though or if they’d hold up in my suitcase. When I went back the night before we left to bite the bullet, they were gone. Sigh. After I got home, I still wanted to make the pizza and I decided I’d settle for fig jam as pizza sauce. That should be easy to find, right?

Wrong.

After much googling, a few different store stops and no luck, I abandoned my fig jam search. I may have been disappointed, but I’m no quitter. I bought some dried figs and re-worked my plan. This pizza was born and I loved it so much I didn’t care about how much time I wasted looking for the other stuff. We always have dried figs around these parts, and apparently that’s all I needed. They add a nice texture and their sweetness plays great with the salty sausage and cheese. It’s an awesome combo for when you don’t feel like traditional pizza (I often don’t). Another option? Swap out the sausage for bacon. You can thank me later.

Sausage, Fig & Arugula Pizza

Makes one cookie sheet sized pizza

• 4 Italian sausages (I used mild)
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 batch go-to pizza dough
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 10 dried figs, chopped
• 1 cup fresh arugula
• ½ tbsp. dried oregano
• ½ tbsp. dried basil

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Remove casings from sausages and discard the casings. Cut the raw sausage in small pieces. In a skillet over medium heat, combine sausage and onion and sauté until browned, crumbling the meat as you go. Once cooked, remove from heat, drain fat if necessary and set aside.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment and drizzle with olive oil, spreading it on parchment. Stretch dough in a free form rectangle to fit cookie sheet. Rub a bit of extra olive oil on top of crust.

Sprinkle dough with 1 cup mozzarella and ½ cup parmesan. Sprinkle evenly with sausage, figs and arugula. Cover toppings with remaining cheese and sprinkle top with dried herbs.

Bake for about 15 minutes and broil top for another minute or two. Remove from oven once crust is golden and cheese is bubby. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting.