What's the fig idea? Kitchen sink pizza.

All cultures have a sexy way to reimagine leftovers. Britain has the bubble and squeak, Italians whip up leftovers and eggs for frittatas, and the American Midwest can't get enough of a sturdy casserole. But I found something sexier - pizza!

Our fig tree exploded with fruits in the past week, and I'll never eat fig jam if I make it. So I grabbed some figs, and some leftover food in the fridge and cupboard, and made an unforgettable little pizza. Well, two.

You don't need marinara or tomato sauce if you want to make a less-traditional, flatbread-type of dish. And these days, there are endless versions of pizza crust to acommodate different diets. There's gluten-free crust for those with Celiac, cauliflour crust for the keto folks and good old-fashioned pizza crust for traditionalists like me. 

But once you have your crust, throw open the fridge doors, rummage through shelves and have fun with pizza toppings. Pine nuts, truffle oil, spinach - almost every food group works if you combine the right flavors. 

I took an abundance of figs, sliced them into discs and laid them atop pizza crust, prepped with basil olive oil and goat cheese. I drizzled with a little extra oil and a balsamic glaze that bubbled and caramelized in the oven. You want to keep the crust in the oven until the cheese melts and the pizza dough starts to brown. 

After baking at 450 degrees for 12 minutes (follow the recipe for your favorite type of crust), we topped it with fresh basil leaves and an extra drizzle of balsamic.

But why stop there? We had yellow squash and portobella mushrooms in the fridge, so we sauteed them in truffle oil and placed it on the crust, along with mozzarella, basil and pine nuts. The special topping that made it pop is pictured above, and available online. 

You can throw fistfuls of cold arugula atop the oven-fresh pizza to give it a crunch and depth of flavor.  No need to worry about measurements or formal recipes, and any type of cheese will do. Relish the challenge of making leftovers the best version of themselves. Take some chances, and enjoy!