Pizza

The only liberties I’ve taken with the classic margherita is to let one of my favorite pizza cheeses, smoked mozzarella, provide that extra, haunting flavor, to echo the smoke from a wood-burning pizza oven. And, of course, there are the 12-Hour Tomatoes (page 2) that I hope you have in your fridge just waiting for this moment to shine. (If you don’t, substitute 1/3 cup canned diced tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, drained, plus a little salt and pepper to taste.)

This recipe uses sourdough starter primarily as a flavor enhancer rather than for leavening. It adds a subtle complexity without drawing attention to itself. However, if you prefer a more tart flavor you can omit the instant yeast and give the dough four hours of fermentation at room temperature before dividing it into dough balls and refrigerating.

When making grilled pizza, roll the dough very thin so that it cooks through quickly. This means that it’ll burn easily, so keep an eye on the dough as it cooks. If you’re new to grilling pizza, make an extra batch of dough, in case a few pizzas get sacrificed to the gods of grilling. Apply toppings lightly—just a few tablespoons each.

Oh, Barbecue Chicken Pita Pizza, how I love thee! Okay, that might sound kind of weird, but try it and you’ll know what I mean. These silly little pizzas are the easiest things in the world to make and most excellent to eat. In my opinion, that’s the perfect combination. I like making them this way, but you could use almost any toppings you want.

What could be more appealing on a weekend than to fill the kitchen with the good smell of bread baking? I like to start my bread dough when I get up, and for lunch I reward myself with a fresh-from-the-oven pizza. Perhaps I’ll share a baguette over dinner with friends, and have some mini-loaves to put in the freezer and enjoy in the weeks ahead—all made from the same dough. If there are children around, I announce what I’m up to, and invariably they will want to join me and pitch in. For them, there is something magical about making bread-the way it rises quietly in a bowl under a cover, the fun of punching the dough down, forming the loaves, and creating steam in the oven just before baking. To say nothing of how good it tastes. I started baking bread in the sixties, when I persuaded Julia Child to work out a recipe for French bread that could be baked in an American home oven. In those days, it was almost impossible to buy a crusty baguette. Now there are artisan bakers all over who have mastered the techniques, and there’s really no need to bake one’s own. But it is such fun.

Nothing is better than pizza dough made from scratch. For the pizza connoisseur (and the pizza consumer), the crust can make or break the whole pie. It does take some extra time and patience, but we promise that it is well worth the effort.

Chicago’s best-loved food is deep-dish pizza. Do it up right, just as they do in the windy city, with heaping portions of spicy, hot Italian sausage, green peppers, fresh mushrooms, and onions. You can cheat a little and use refrigerated dough, but if you don’t want to upset the mob, try making your own dough from scratch (see page 194). Chicago-style pizza and our beloved home of Austin, Texas, have more of a connection than one might realize. Reportedly, the famous Chicago-style deep-dish pizza was invented by former University of Texas football star Ike Sewell. Go Horns!

I love the charred flavor of grilled pizza. You can top it with anything, of course, but this version is one of my favorites. It’s crispy and crunchy, kind of like a grilled cracker. Whenever I eat pizza I always give it a sprinkey-dink of crushed red pepper—it’s just better with a little kick! That’s why I make this infused oil for my pizzetta. It’s an amazing way to get a big flavor bump, and while I love this chili oil on pizza, it’s great on lots and lots of things.

Have you noticed all the gluten-free pizza parlors popping up in major cities lately? I have, and pizza makes me incredibly excited! The end result of my version is simple and traditional—tomatoes, garlic, and a little basil atop a thin crust—even if the crust’s instructions do take some careful minding. Above all else, be absolutely sure to get the finest tomatoes you can find. If you must (and often I must), throw some cheese on top and start piling on as many vegetables as you like—just make sure to roll your dough a little thicker to bear any extra weight. For you traditionalists out there, I have included a time-tested tomato sauce (page 90) as well.

This festive pizza comes from my sister Esmeralda. I often make several and put them out at Super Bowl parties. It makes a family-friendly weeknight dinner with a salad.

What you put on your pizza is just as important as how much. It’s about quality, not quantity. Don’t go crazy and overload pizza with a jumble of toppings. Think about balance and a few well-chosen ingredients that work together. The Caponata (page 70) and the sugo (page 111) are delicious spread on pizza with a few cubes of mozzarella, for example. Here earthy mushrooms matched with fragrant thyme and sweet caramelized onions pack this rustic pizza with major punch. Gruyère’s robust and savory flavor profile knocks this no-sauce pizza off the charts. When it comes to pizza, this one delivers.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to topping pizza. Here, sweet shrimp meet spicy chorizo sausage, slightly bitter escarole, and salty Manchego cheese. The combination is out of this world! If you haven’t explored making your own pizza yet, let this be one to try with the family.

My kids, Ella, Lulu, and Harry, love making pizza at home and getting their hands in the dough. You don’t need a special oven to make great pizza at home, although I recommend purchasing a pizza stone from your local kitchen store to ensure a crispy and crunchy crust. While you are at it, pick up a pizza paddle too. They often are sold as a set and run only around $30, so they’re not a major investment. The pizza dough in Basics is extremely versatile and can be topped with basically anything you can come up with. Here I wanted to come up with a vegetarian pizza that was so packed with interesting flavors, no one would miss the meat. Radicchio and arugula provide a slightly bitter balance to the melted and wondrous cheeses.

Like a pizza, it’s crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Nearly any pasta shape with any sauce will do; as long as you liked the original serving, you’ll like the leftovers prepared this way.

No kneading or rising time is required for this mushroom-based pizza. Place it on a bed of arugula and watercress flavored with a feta dressing, and serve as they do in Europe—with a knife and fork.

You can buy pregrilled chicken in grocery stores these days for convenience, or you can make it yourself in bulk a couple of days a week (see Basic Grilled Chicken, page 219). If you make it yourself, you’re apt to save a lot of sodium—and likely a lot of money too. I love adding chicken to pizza. The addition of plenty of lean protein can transform pizza into a very well-balanced meal. Because chicken is so low in fat, it’s best to put it under the cheese (instead of on top, like you traditionally would with meat toppings) when making pizza—you’ll keep the chicken from drying out.

It’s best to buy goat cheese that is precrumbled. This will save you time and make it easier to spread the cheese across the entire pizza, requiring less to get some in every bite. If you do buy it in a tube (it may make sense if it’s significantly less expensive that way), freeze it slightly before attempting to crumble it. It will crumble much easier.

I love olives. If they had no calories, I would eat them by the bucket. Again, though, they are another ingredient that when eaten in moderation provides good fats our bodies do need. Here, I’ve used them to make pizza, another of my favorite foods. This throw-together meal will take significantly less time than waiting for takeout. And it’s especially great because you can stock the ingredients in your kitchen for that night when you just don’t have time to cook.

When I first saw the “herbs in tubes,” as I call them, referring to Gourmet Garden’s herb blends, I thought I wouldn’t like them. But with one try, I became hooked, particularly to the garlic blend. This rendition of a margarita pizza is one of my favorite applications for them. It’s insanely easy to throw together and especially tasty, considering the little amount of time it takes. If you’re having trouble finding these herbs, visit gourmetgarden.com and check out their store locator. Or you can look for herbs frozen in trays. At my local Trader Joe’s, they sell frozen chopped garlic and chopped basil in trays from a brand called Dorot. Just be sure to measure the herbs yourself instead of relying on the measurements listed on the package (I found 1 teaspoon of basil was more than 1 cube, though the package says that 1 cube is equivalent to 1 teaspoon).

When I was a child, we went to Chuck E. Cheese’s for our birthdays. In addition to all of the cool games and the characters, I loved that they cut their pizzas into squares instead of wedges. Not only could you get more crust or less crust as you like (I’m a less-crust girl), I got to eat a number of pieces, since they’re petite. Here, I’ve cut the flatbread into squares to distinguish it from other pizzas . . . and because it just feels more decadent. If you’re making this pizza on a charcoal grill, heat the coals until they are hot and covered with gray ash. Then place the pizza on the grill about 5 inches from the coals for best results. Cover and grill for 3 to 4 minutes.

In the cantine or kitchens of Naples, you’re likely to see, hanging from strings, clusters of pomodorini (cherry tomatoes) put there at summer’s end to preserve their flavor for the cold winter months ahead. Because of their dry texture, these pomodorini are ideal for topping pizzas. If you’d like to approximate the texture and taste of cantina-dried pomodorini, cut ripe cherry tomatoes in half, arrange them, cut side down, on a baking sheet, and dry them overnight in the oven with only the pilot light lit. If you’re using regular or plum tomatoes, be sure to slice them thin and not to cover them with slices of mozzarella, or else they won’t dry and will make the crust soggy and undercooked.