Pizzettas Recipes

GRILLED PIZZETTAS

Steps:

• Make the dough: Fill a liquid measuring cup or small bowl with 1/2 cup warm (not hot) water. Add the yeast and sugar and stir with a fork; let sit 15 minutes. The top of the water will bubble and it will smell very yeasty-this is what you want!
• Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the olive oil and the yeast mixture.
• Using a fork, gradually stir the flour into the yeast mixture until mostly combined, then mix with your hands to bring the dough together. Turn out onto a clean surface.
• Knead the dough until smooth, dusting with flour as needed. Lightly oil a bowl; add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Prep the toppings: For prosciutto-arugula pizzas, make the chile oil: Bring the chiles and olive oil to a simmer; remove from the heat and let steep 1 hour. (This makes extra oil; store in a sealed container for up to 1 week.)
• For puttanesca pizzas, make the topping: Mix the tomatoes, olives, capers and red pepper flakes in a bowl; add salt and drizzle with olive oil.
• Preheat the grill: Preheat a grill to medium high (you don't want it to be too hot or the crusts will burn before the cheese melts). Brush the grill to remove any crud.
• Roll out the dough: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
• Use a rolling pin to roll out each ball into an irregular oval, dusting with flour as needed.
• For cracker-thin crusts, use your hands to gently stretch the dough even more.
• Stack the dough between layers of plastic wrap and head to the grill (or wrap and refrigerate overnight).
• Grill the crusts: Oil the grill (Anne uses a rolled-up towel and tongs), then carefully add a few pieces of dough.
• Grill until the top is bubbly and the bottom is marked, about 2 minutes.
• Flip with tongs and grill until just marked on the other side. Remove from the grill and transfer to baking sheets; repeat with the remaining dough.
• Add the toppings: Working on the baking sheets, top the crusts with parmigiano and prosciutto, or top with taleggio and the puttanesca mixture; return to the grill. Crack an egg directly onto each prosciutto pizza, if you want. Cover the grill and cook until the cheese melts and the eggs are set, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Finish the pizzas: Remove from the grill and top the prosciutto pizzas with arugula; drizzle with the prepared chile oil. Top the puttanesca pizzas with chives.

BUDDY'S QUICK PIZZETTAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/gas 9 (full whack) or as hot as it will go. Place 2 large baking trays in to heat up.
• Place the flour in a large bowl with a small pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the yoghurt. Mix well with a spatula until you can't move it anymore, then use your clean hands to form it into a dough. Turn onto a board and knead for a few minutes until smooth. Plop it back into the bowl, cover with a cloth and leave to one side while you make your sauce.
• Peel and finely slice the garlic and place in a medium pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook for 1 minute, then pour in the tomatoes. Use a potato masher to squash everything down to make a lovely smooth sauce. Cook for 10 minutes, or until thickened, then tear in most of the basil, season to perfection and set aside.
• Now for the fun bit. Place your dough on a flour-dusted surface and divide into 8 pieces. Line up all your toppings so they're ready to go: finely chop the red chilli and grate the Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses. Pick the remaining basil leaves (and finely chop, if you like), thinly slice the mushrooms. and tear the ham into small pieces. Roll the pieces of dough into thin rounds, stacking them up between sheets of greaseproof paper as you go to stop them sticking.
• Carefully remove the baking trays from the oven (get an adult to help you with this bit!). Transfer your pizza bases to the hot trays and, working quickly, spoon over the tomato sauce over each base, spreading out with a spoon. Tear over the mozzarella and add your favourite toppings. Pop the trays back in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until the bases are crispy and the cheese is bubbling. Slice into triangles and serve with a side salad.

PIZZETTE WITH GORGONZOLA, TOMATO AND BASIL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
• Roll out the pizza dough to 1/4-inch thick. Using a 2 to 2 1/2-inch diameter cookie cutter, cut out 18 circles from the dough. Arrange the circles on a heavy large baking sheet. Sprinkle the Gorgonzola cheese over the circles. Top with the tomatoes, pressing them gently into the dough. Bake until the pizzettes are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drizzle the pizzettes with oil. Sprinkle the basil over the pizzettes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the pizzettes on a platter and serve immediately.

PIZZETTAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200'C (400'F/Gas 6). Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing nowl and then make a well in the centre of the mixture.
• Pour the milk and oil into the well.Mix with a wooden spoon until the flour and liquids start to come together and form a soft dough.
• Lightly dust a work top and your hands with flour. Tip the dough out of the bowl and knead it for about 1 minute to form a smooth ball.
• Dust 2 baking sheets with flour. Divide the dough into 4 smaller balls, Using a rolling pin, roll wach piece into a 15cm(6 inch)circle.
• Carefully place 2 dough bases on each baking sheet.
• Top each base tith 1-2 tablespoons of the Tomato Sauce.
• Using the back of a spoon, spread the tomato in an even layer almostto the edge of the pizza base. Slice the mozzerella ball into 8-12 pieces.
• Add the mozzerella and any other toppings. Top with the cheddar cheese. Bake the pizzas for 10 minutes or until the base has risen and the top is golden.

ZUCCHINI, POTATO, AND FONTINA PIZZETTAS

Steps:

• Whisk yeast, sugar, and 3 Tbsp. warm water in a large bowl. Let sit until surface is foamy, about 5 minutes. Add 1 1/4 cups room-temperature water, then add 1 cup flour, whisking until smooth (mixture should be the consistency of pancake batter). Add 2 1/2 cups flour and 2 tsp. kosher salt and mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead with your hands, adding more flour as needed to prevent it from sticking, until dough is smooth and supple, 5-10 minutes (it will be very soft). Transfer to a large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, 1-1 1/2 hours.
• Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and form into balls. Place on an oiled rimmed baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until balls of dough are nearly doubled in size, 40-50 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place potato slices in a colander and rinse with cold water. Drain, season with kosher salt, and let sit, tossing occasionally, until softened, 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and toss with onion, zucchini, and 2 Tbsp. oil; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Working with 1 ball of dough at a time and keeping remaining dough covered while you work, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into 10" rounds.
• Heat a dry large cast-iron skillet over medium. Pour 1 Tbsp. oil into skillet and cook a dough round until bottom is golden brown and top looks dry, about 1 minute. Flip and cook just until bottom is lightly golden, about 1 minute. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and repeat with remaining 3 Tbsp. oil and rounds of dough (you should be able to fit two pizzettas per baking sheet if you overlap them slightly).
• Top pizzettas with Fontina cheese and reserved potato mixture; season with kosher salt. Bake, rotating baking sheets once top to bottom and back to front, until crusts are golden brown and crisp and cheese is bubbling, 10-15 minutes. Remove pizzettas from oven, season with sea salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil.

PIZZELLES III

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until thick. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking powder, and blend into the batter until smooth.
• Heat the pizzelle iron, and brush with oil. Drop about one tablespoon of batter onto each circle on the iron. You may need to experiment with the amount of batter and baking time depending on the iron. Bake for 20 to 45 seconds, or until steam is no longer coming out of the iron. Carefully remove cookies from the iron. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
• For chocolate pizzelles, add 1/4 cup cocoa sifted together with flour and baking powder, 1/4 cup more sugar and 1/4 teaspoon more baking powder. I find that for the chocolate mixture, the iron must be well oiled to start and then brush on more as needed.

PORTABELLA PIZZETTAS

Steps:

• Thaw spinach and press out liquid, finely chop.
• Combine spinach, cheese basil, and pepper in a mixing bowl.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Clean mushrooms, remove stems.
• Place mushroom caps top side down on a lightly greased cookie sheet, brush with butter or margarine.
• Spoon about 2 tablespoons of spinach mixture into each cap.
• Sprinkle with tomato and salt.
• Bake for 12 minutes or till heated through OR place on the unheated rack of a broiler pan.
• Broil 4 inches from the heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Cut into quarters and serve.

FIG & PROSCIUTTO PIZZETTAS

Steps:

• To make the dough, mix the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl. Measure 250ml hand-warm water into a jug, add the oil, then tip into the flour mixture. Mix together with a wooden spoon, followed by your hands, to make a wet dough - add a splash more warm water if needed. Cover with oiled cling film and leave somewhere warm-ish to rise for 1 hr or until doubled in size. Heat the butter, then soften the shallots and set aside.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Tip the dough onto a floured surface, knead briefly to smooth, then divide into 6-8 balls. Roll out each to a thin circle, then arrange on flour-dusted baking sheets. Mix the crème fraîche, Parmesan and shallots with a little salt and lots of black pepper. Spread over the dough and bake for 10-15 mins until crisp at the edges and slightly puffed up.
• Toss the figs and mozzarella with the rocket. Sprinkle over the pizzettas with the prosciutto. Mix the oil and vinegar, drizzle over the pizzettas and serve.

MANCHU SPICED GARLIC CHICKEN "PIZZETTAS"

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add onions and sauté 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and sauté until onions are dark brown, about 25 minutes. Add sugar, vinegar and 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic; stir until liquid evaporates and onions are well glazed, about 2 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature.
• Sprinkle chicken with salt. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in another heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sauté 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Add chili sauce and sauté 1 minute. Remove chicken from heat. Stir in 3 tablespoons cilantro.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Sprinkle 2 large baking sheets with flour. Stretch dough from 1 tube to 12x8-inch rectangle. Cut crosswise in half, forming two 6x8-inch rectangles. Cut off corners of each rectangle, forming oval. Transfer dough to prepared baking sheet. Repeat stretching and cutting with remaining dough. Bake until tops are light brown, about 8 minutes.
• Mix mozzarella, Swiss and provolone cheeses in large bowl. Sprinkle cheese mixture, tomatoes, onions, chicken and remaining 3 tablespoons cilantro over pizzas, dividing equally. Bake pizzas until cheese melts, about 5 minutes longer.