Ham and Banana Pizza (No really, try this!)

Salty (even leftover!) ham is a nice match for sweet banana slices in this unusual pizza. Updated photos, same great recipe.

I am sure someone would think that this pizza falls into the category of Strange But Good.  Ham and banana seems like an unusual pairing to everyone that hears it.

Why is that?  Do the pineapple people have such a good PR machine that no one considers bananas for pizza?  You'd think as tropical fruits they'd all stick together.

I first had this combination on a pizza in Germany.  And I loved it.  I tried it initially because, hey, we were all trying the weird things on the menu.  Come to think of it, I first had corn on a pizza while in Germany.  That combination stuck with me, though, and whenever I have the happy coincidence of ham slices, just-about-to-be-over-ripe bananas, and red sauce I make a pizza.  The family tolerates it, but I love it just like I did the first time I tried it.  It's fast to throw together and tastes delicious.

Note:  if there's any of this pizza left over, pick off the bananas before refrigerating.  You do not want to see them on your pizza the next day.  Trust me.

Ham and Banana Pizza

1 pound pizza dough (see my Pizza Primer here)

1/2 cup red sauce of your choice (keep it easy)

2 thin slices of ham (2 oz), chopped into small pieces, or a cup of leftover ham

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 banana, sliced into thin circles

Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle or other Italian blend seasoning

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  My baking stone lives in my oven and I bake pizzas on that.

Use a cookie sheet if you'd like.

On an oiled piece of parchment, stretch the crust out into a pleasing shape.  Top with red sauce, ham, and cheese.  Scatter Place slices of banana evenly around the pizza pie.  Sprinkle with seasoning.  Bake 5-8 minutes, then shake the parchment out from under the crust and continue baking 3-5 more minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Cool on a wire rack then slice and serve.

NOTE:  I am so sorry that this pizza post appeared on a day not a Pizza Friday.  I accidentally posted it over the weekend, caught it, deleted it, and thought I'd re-done it to post on Friday but apparently this pizza really really wanted to greet the world earlier.  So here it is.

This pizza is linked up with Laura at Sprint2TheTable's Strange But Good party.