Need something delicious in a hurry? You can whip up this gourmet mushroom-mozzarella-prosciutto-truffle pizza in no time.

The ‘in a hurry’ part is because I cheated and used a ready-made raw pizza crust (Pillsbury thin-crust) – or you could try Whole Foods’ raw pizza dough; each container has enough dough to create three decent sized, thin-crust pizzas – but you do need to allow it to ‘prove’ (rise) first.

The ‘gourmet’ bit implies that you’ve already made (and frozen) a decent sized batch of ‘Duxelles’ …something that every mushroom-loving foodie needs to have at the ready in my opinion.

The whole thing is topped off with a drizzle of white truffle oil…and there are very few pizza toppings to top this one.

The prosciutto is optional so vegetarians can still indulge – perhaps scatter with some arugula/rocquette leaves before splashing on the truffle oil.

I used baby crimini/chestnut mushrooms but the large portabella/field ‘shrooms will also work well, as will chanterelles if you can find them and afford them; or fresh baby porcini, if you’re a fungi hunter like myself. In fact any exotic mushroom will do but I’d avoid using shitake for this – they’re better suited for other dishes such as ‘Truffled Mac ‘n Cheese’, or ‘Shitake Bacon’.

Use buffalo mozzarella if possible and shred it yourself with a coarse grater. The topping quantities are meant as a guide, so pile them on at will!

It’s unlikely you’ll have leftovers but if you do, I have a dear friend who’d be happy to drop by and eat your cold leftover pizza for breakfast ;).

GOURMET WILD MUSHROOM, PROSCIUTTO & TRUFFLE PIZZA

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

One Pillsbury thin crust pizza base, part cooked according to instructions

2 heaped tablespoons of Duxelles

4 oz (114g) of mozzarella, shredded

2 slices of prosciutto, shredded (optional)

A couple of ounces (57g) of sliced fresh mushrooms

Olive oil and truffle oil to finish

Action:

Pre-heat the oven to 425F (220C).

Put the part baked crust on a pizza stone or oiled cookie sheet (if using one of these, reduce the oven temp to 400F/200C). Spread the duxelles over the base then top with mozzarella. Scatter the mushrooms and prosciutto over the cheese and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until it looks good enough to eat. Top it with some optional arugula/roquette leaves and drizzle with truffle oil to finish.