Monday, August 16, 2010

Sicilian Style Pizza

Buongiorno, and Happy Monday, ya'll!

Let me begin today's post with a {teensy} disclaimer: I am not Italian, Sicilian, or of Mediterranean extraction. I have nothing but respect for Italians, especially ones from Sicily whose ancestors immigrated to the U.S., and established {criminal organizations}. If I screw up your great aunt Benedetta's recipe, I assure you, I mean no disrespect. -end disclaimer. 

Okay, so with that out of the way, this is a recipe that Herr Handsome and I have been {addicted} to this summer. 
That kind of sucks, because every time I bake it, it heats up the house. But - it is  soooo worth it! 

This recipe was inspired by an episode of Man v. Food that we saw somewhere, and we worked out a recipe after watching it.

The Crust:

3-4 cups flour 
(use fresh ground whole wheat if you can. I use my Momma's old wheat grinder. So yummy!)
1 heaping Tbsp {kosher} salt
2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 cups very hot water
2 Tbsp olive oil

Mix together dry ingredients, keeping out about 1 cup of flour, then add wet ingredients. 
Add flour until your dough is soft, not sticky. 
(I use the dough hook on Lola, my {kitchen-aid}, and it makes my life so much easier!)


Coat your dough ball with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap to rise. 



(risen a bunch!)

The Sauce:

Hello, my name is {AmberLou}. (hi, AmberLou) I have never tasted Prego. or Ragu. In my house (like my mother's before me) we eat homemade sauce. It is so easy. {Trust me}.

1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
a big handful of fresh basil from your garden, chopped 
(or like, 1 tsp dry basil)
(May I say, I {adore} basil. If things with Herr Handsome ever go sour, me and basil are getting together.)
1/2 tsp dry oregano

Pour the olive oil into a small saucepan. 
When hot, add garlic and herbs. 
Cook  just until fresh herbs are wilted, then add sauce. 
Turn to low, and simmer until ready to use. 


(This is not {real} Italian sauce. My girlfriend, Melinda (who is Italian - like the scary kind who will stick a fork in your eye if you break your spaghetti noodles) will probably fall over in a swoon when she reads this. She is {serious} about her sauce. If you simmer it for less than 36 hours, you're not really trying!)

The Toppings:

Step {away} from the pepperoni! Do it

about 1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced. 
(I use Frigo. Forgive me {Father} for I have sinned.)
1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan 
a nice big drizzle of olive oil

That's it! 

No mushrooms, no bell peppers, {ABSOLUTELY} no pineapple!

 Capice?!

The Assembly:

Roll your dough into a large cookie sheet. (No. You {don't} need to grease the pan. With all that olive oil!?)


Assemble the slices of mozzarella over the crust until it is more or less covered


Spread the sauce {on top} of the cheese. Yes, you heard me. 


Sprinkle the Parmesan over the sauce.
Drizzle 1-2 Tbsp olive oil over the whole pizza. 

Baking:

Heat your oven to 475 degrees, fahrenheit

(let your pizza rise while the oven is heating)

bake for 12-15 minutes

Let cool, ever so slightly. (because face it, no one likes to burn their tongue on molten cheese) 


Eat it! 

Isn't it {AMAZING}?



<3 AmberLou


p.s. stay tuned next Monday... I have a couple of really fun thingies in the pipeline that I'm super excited about!!!



sharing at some of these parties

13 comments:

  1. Ooh - homemade pizza is the best! Yours looks and sounds scrumptious!

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  2. *gasp* NO mushrooms, bell peppers OR PINEAPPLE????!!!!! Bruce will be scandalized. Oh well...I'm going to try it anyway. I'm sure he will love it, but afterward I fully expect him to push his chair back, tap his fingers together like an evil villain and say "you know what would REALLY be good with this is..."
    Love ~ Auntie Liz

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  3. Interesting idea to put the mozzarella under the sauce and there isn't only one way to do "real" Italian sauce, each family does it in their own way.
    I do mine like yours, more or less.

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  4. This looks amazing! I will have to try it out for a girls lunch or something.. I don't think my husband would go for it. He needs pepperoni, sausage, and canadian bacon or it's not a pizza ;)

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  5. Welcome to Tuesday Tastes! Love the green flames on Lola! This pizza looks amazing! Always looking for that perfect crust recipe!

    Happy Day,
    Jasey

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  6. Your pizza looks seriously yummy even without the pepperoni!

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  7. I've been looking for a good pizza dough recipe, so I'll surely be cooking this in the next few weeks! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Saw this on the Vegetarian Foodie Fridays and had to stop by since my in-laws are Sicilian, actually grew up there and came here through Ellis Island and everything and they make this a lot. My MIL is actually named Benedetta :)
    So many of her Sicilian recipes are also great vegetarian recipes, I'm thinking I may need to start writing them down and participating in Melodie's link-up myself!

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  9. I've been on holiday all this past week so I am very late in coming by to say thanks for linking at Vegetarian Foodie Fridays! Hope to see you again soon!

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  10. So I can use all whole wheat flour and it will work out just fine?

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  11. I do, and the dough rises great and is nice and soft and totally delicious!

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