We started with homemade dough (the first I’d ever made):

* 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
* 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 2 cups bread flour
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons white sugar

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about an hour. (The original recipe advised only 30 minutes of rising time, but I consulted with my mom (a veteran pizza maker), and she recommended that the dough be left to rise for at least an hour.)

Instead of red sauce, we made a fig pesto – we followed Epicurious’ pesto recipe, and added five fresh mission figs, chopped coarsely. We also added an extra clove of garlic to make up for the lack of roasted garlic on the pizza proper.

Epicurious’ Classic Pesto recipe:

* 4 cups fresh basil leaves (from about 3 large bunches)
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 1/3 cup pine nuts
* 2 garlic cloves
* 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino Sardo or Parmesan cheese
* 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Combine first 4 ingredients in blender. Blend until paste forms, stopping often to push down basil. Add both cheeses and salt; blend until smooth. Transfer to small bowl.

The most important part (I think) was topping selection – we wanted to balance the tanginess/garliciness of the pesto with lighter flavors, and we also wanted to include a protein. Here’s what we used to top the pizza:

* About 8 oz. chevre
* 1/2 cup crumbled feta
* Two chicken breasts sauteed with olive oil and fresh rosemary, chopped into strips
* About 1/2 cup white mushrooms, sliced
* Ten fresh mission figs, sliced thinly
* A sprinkle of black pepper

We baked the pizza for 22 minutes at 410 F, and let it sit a few minutes before cutting/serving.

The result was total deliciousness; the pesto wasn’t as sweet as I expected it to be, but the figs topping the pizza added a nice sweetness (and also looked beautiful). We’ll be making this again in the near future!