Sicilian pizza

The other day my sister and her 2 kids came over for a day of fun. Since it was a day of fun I decided that we'd have a fun lunch for everyone which around here is pizza! Oh my goodness this pizza turned out fantastic. It was so flavorful, the sauce was fresh tasting and had good 'pizza' flavor. Ben, my almost 9 year old nephew, declared that it smelled like a pizzeria in the house and that I needed to open my own pizza shop. See what a good boy he is? :)

If you all don't know this by now I'm horrible at following recpies. Even my own recipes! So this pizza recipe is different than previously posted pizza recipes. And I have to say, this one may be the best one I've made yet, though I'm pretty sure I said that last time too. The sauce was so so SO good! The crust was both chewy and crispy - what more could you ask for? I had an 8 oz block of mozzarella and a touch of Asiago on hand yesterday, when I spread the cheese on the pizza I thought "Oh crap, thats not gonna be enough cheese". I am happy to report that it was a perfect amount of cheese, just enough to hold the whole thing together, the toppings didn't slide off the slice and it was not excessively greasy, an added plus for sure!

This recipe makes 2 pizzas. I cooked one for us for lunch and froze the 2nd. In retrospect I should have doubled the recipe, cooked 2 for lunch and froze the other 2 for future use. The delicious pizza that's frozen in my freezer is taunting me, it keeps saying "Kitchen Witch, you know you want to make me for lunch again today. Kitchen Witch, pizza, its whats for dinner!" I must ignore its siren song so I can enjoy its deliciousness another day when I just don't feel like cooking!

Sicilian Pizza
makes 2 large pizzas
Crust:
4 c king arthur bread flour
2 t yeast
1.5 t kosher salt
4 t sugar
2 T EVOO
1 3/4 c warm water

Sauce:
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/4 onion
2 t EVOO
Kosher salt
1/2 t minced fresh oregano plus 1-2 sprigs of oregano
(can use 3/4 t dried oregano)

Toppings: (feel free to use whatever you and your family like here!)
8 oz mozzarella cheese shredded, divided
1/4 c Asiago cheese, divided
8 slices salami, divided
4 slices deli ham, divided
2/3 red bell pepper diced, divided

Make the dough:
~*~the dough will need at least 2 hours of rising time before its ready for use - please plan accordingly~*~

Bloom the yeast in 1/2 c warm water and 1 t sugar. Mix the flour, salt and 3 t sugar together in the work bowl of your stand mixer. Once the yeast has bloomed and is foamy and active add it to the flour, add the EVOO and slowly add the warm water.

~*~Kitchen Witch Tip~*~ I always hold off on the last 1/2 cup of water when making bread doughs, you may or may not need it all and its always easier to add more water rather than trying to add more flour to dry it up some.

Kneed the dough in the mixer for 10 minutes. Oil a bowl with EVOO and put the dough ball in the bowl, coating all sides of dough with EVOO. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in size. Once doubled punch down and kneed again then divide into 2 equally sized balls.

Spread the dough out on a lightly greased sheet pan making the edges slightly thicker than the center. Prick crust with tines of a fork (this is called docking) so steam can release & you don't get big air bubbles.

Make the sauce:
Heat a sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the EVOO, onions and garlic. Cook slowly until garlic is golden brown and onion has started to soften.

Add the crushed tomatoes, salt and herbs. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer about 15 minutes. After 15 min press the garlic, onions and herb bunch against side of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir well. Discard any large pieces of garlic, onion and the sprigs of oregano.

Assemble pizza:


Prep the salami - I use salami because that's what we had. It was delicious, it added that pepperoni kind of flavor that pizza loves. Because I like my pepperoni and salami to be crispy I pre fried it. Heat a small sautee pan over medium high heat. Cut salami into pieces (or use pepperoni) and put into the pan. Cook the meat until its crispy and has released a fair amount of grease. Drain before using on pizza. I also put the salami under the cheese so it wouldn't get burned, since is about 80% cooked already.

Spread 1/2 the sauce on each pizza.

Top with salami or pepperoni

Next is cheese

Then the ham

Finally the red bell peppers. Pretty isn't it?

Bake at 500 for 15-20 minutes or until its bubbly and browned and the crust is golden. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes before slicing.



Nutrition Facts
2 pizzas per recipe, each serves 5 people
10 Servings total
Amount Per Serving
Calories 365.0
Total Fat 14.1 g
Saturated Fat 5.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.7 g
Cholesterol 26.8 mg
Sodium 741.1 mg
Potassium 296.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 43.2 g
Dietary Fiber 2.5 g
Sugars 0.1 g
Protein 16.3 g