cast iron pizza

Jun 11

You don’t need to follow this recipe to the letter - I often don’t. Cast iron pizza is a way I use up leftover sauces, corner remnants of cheese, leftover herbs-turned-pesto and other odds and ends taking up space in my fridge. I like this dough because it’s delicious and doesn’t require a ton of effort or planning ahead, but you can use your favorite store-bought or restaurant-bought dough if you want to make this even easier (you’ll need about a pound). Think of this recipe as more of a technique, maybe a lifestyle. Take any shortcut you like or none at all - what’s important is you end up with a crispy-crunchy pizza, right out of your normal oven.

yield 2 12-inch pizzas or 1 sheet pan pizza (see note at bottom), 4 servings

dough (adapted from Roberta’s recipe)
310 grams (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more
9 grams (1 1/2 ts) kosher salt
2 grams (3/4 ts) active dry yeast
4 grams (1 ts) olive oil, plus more

sauce
2 T olive oil
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 T calabrian chilies in oil (optional)
2 T fish sauce, plus more to taste
1 ts honey, or more to taste

greens
4 cups kale or hearty leafy greens
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced (optional)

assembly
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1 T honey
2 T olive oil
8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds or torn
3-4 oz thinly sliced speck or serrano ham, pepperoni or salami
3-4 medjool dates, pitted and finely chopped (optional)
onion, halved and thinly sliced (optional)
2 T sesame seeds (optional)
grated parmesan, for serving
red chili flakes, for serving

riffing

sub a few (or a bunch) anchovies for fish sauce, adding them early so they melt into the sauce

replace grape tomatoes with canned cherry or crushed tomatoes

replace or add virtually anything and assemble as instructed

recipe prep

dough

Whisk flour and salt together in a large bowl. Create a well.

In a separate bowl, stir together 200 grams (a little under a cup) warm water, yeast and olive oil. Pour it into the flour well, making sure to get all the yeast. Stir, gradually incorporating more of the flour until a shaggy dough forms. Knead until well combined, 3 minutes. Let dough rest for 15 minutes.

Knead dough for another 3 minutes. Cut into 2 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Coat the inside of 2 medium bowls or containers with olive oil and place one dough ball in each (make sure there is plenty of room for them to rise!). Cover in plastic wrap and let rest for 3-4 hours at room temperature (or cover and put in the fridge for 8-24 hours and remove 30 minutes before you begin shaping the dough).

sauce

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt and cook until softened and slightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir until darkened in color, about 3 minutes. Add remaining sauce ingredients and cook until tomatoes are broken down and everything seems loose but jammy (add a splash of water if it feels a little too thick, but it will be thicker than marinara sauce). Taste and adjust with honey and fish sauce as desired.

greens

Separate kale (or other greens) leaves from stalks. Finely chop stalks. Roughly chop leaves, keeping them separate from the stalks. Heat a 10-12 inch cast iron over medium heat. Add olive oil and kale stalks. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the stalks are softened and beginning to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir to evenly distribute. Add greens, a lil pinch of salt and 1/4 cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until greens are wilty and tender, about 5 minutes. Toss with lemon juice, remove from pan and hold for assembly.

assembly

Preheat oven to 500F (or 550F, if it will go there). In a small bowl, stir garlic, 1 tablespoon honey and 2 tablespoons olive oil until very well combined. Set aside.

Place dough on a floured surface and use fingers or a rolling pin to stretch it to a roughly 14-inch round.

Heat 10 or 12-inch cast iron over medium-high heat on the stove. Working quickly, drape the dough over the cast iron, molding the excess dough up the side walls of the pan (it will be perfectly imperfect! rustic!). Reduce heat to medium. Let dough cook until you start seeing bubbles and the surface appears dried, about 5 minutes.

Add a layer of sauce. Top the pizza with half each of the mozzarella, greens, dates, speck, and onion ( you’ll save the other halves for pizza #2). Brush crust with honey-garlic mixture and sprinkle sesame seeds over. Transfer to oven and cook for 5-10 minutes or until crust is deeply browned and cheese is melty and bubbly. Remove from oven and leave in the pan 5 minutes (this will maximize crispiness).

Using a spatula (and tongs, if needed), transfer pizza to a cutting board. Serve with parmesan and chili flakes as desired. Repeat process with second pizza or do it again tomorrow.

make it on a sheet pan Leave dough in one ball. Flip a large rimmed baking sheet upside down and brush with olive oil. Gently stretch or roll dough to cover as much of the sheet pan as possible (the thinner the crust, the crispier it will get. Brush the top with olive oil and bake until top looks cooked and maybe slightly golden in spots, 5-10 minutes (will not be fully cooked). Add a layer of sauce and top with mozzarella, speck, greens, onion and dates. Brush crust with garlic honey mixture and sprinkle crust with sesame seeds. Return pizza to oven and cook for 10 minutes or until crust is deeply brown and cheese is very melty and bubbly. Top with parmesan and chili flakes as desired.