As you can see from the photo above, the grill won!
I planned to test Perla's Puttanesca Pizza last night and when our friends Judi and Gary returned from WA a day early, I decided to bring my pizza fixings (all pre-measured and completely organized, of course) across the street and make the pizza at their house. Imagine my horror when I opened the grill to pull the pre-baked crust off after just three minutes and saw a huge black charred circle in the middle of my perfect crust. Quite surprisingly, I did not panic! I simply brought the dough inside and chipped out the black charred crust - with just one tap of my tongs, it disintegrated. I proceeded to add toppings to my doughnut shaped pizza and placed it back on the grill, hoping for the best. As it baked, Judi kept assuring me it would be fine and there was a roasted chicken in the refrigerator if need be! Well, it turned out to be an amazingly delicious pizza - the best part - everyone got an end piece! It was crunchy, salty and savory and there was not one morsel left on that cookie sheet (I forgot my pizza peel) when we finished. My advice, KNOW YOUR GRILL before you begin, and/or roll with the rejects, making the most of it. Enjoy the process!
From Pizza Memoirs
Perla’s Puttanesca Pizza
Auntie Perla was famous in our family for her pasta puttanesca . She loved anything salty and spicy especially if it was on pasta; so it comes as no surprise that puttanesca style pasta was one of her favorites. I remember how difficult it was to consume a serving of that pasta…it tasted like a salt lick. Of course, with the exception of my mother, who rarely added salt to her recipes, the ‘grown-ups’ loved Perla’s puttanesca pasta. For this pizza, I sauté and mash the anchovies in oil which gives them a wonderful nutty, less salty taste. To further cut down on the saltiness, you can eliminate the whole anchovies when topping your Puttanesca Pizza.
Ingredients:
¼ cup | Extra virgin olive oil |
6 | Anchovy fillets packed in oil, plus several for topping |
8 to 9 ounces | Prepared pizza dough at room temperature |
3/4 cup | Basic sauce All’ Amatricana, see basic recipe |
4 to 6 ounces | Asiago cheese, shredded (approximately 1 to 1½ cups) |
½ cup | Italian black olives, pitted and roughly chopped (6 to 8 |
¼ cup | Capers, drained and patted dry |
½ teaspoon | Dried oregano |
¼ cup | Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated; plus more for finishing |
2 tablespoons | Fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped |
Crushed red pepper flakes |
Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a 10” skillet over medium-high heat. Add anchovies and sauté, mashing fillets and stirring until they ‘melt’ into the oil, about 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Roll, stretch and shape dough into an unrefined 12 to 14 inch circular shape* according to basic directions. Brush dough with cooled oil/anchovy mixture, then spread the All’ Amatricana sauce over dough.
3. Sprinkle the asiago cheese over the sauce and scatter olives and capers over all. Sprinkle with oregano and Pecorino Romano cheese. Arrange remaining anchovy fillets over the top of the pizza. These can be omitted if you prefer a more subtle anchovy flavor.
4. Bake on a preheated Pizza Grill or on a preheated pizza stone in a 500 degree oven for 10 minutes, rotating pizza after 4 minutes to prevent sticking. Bake until crust is firm and golden and cheese is bubbly. To bake this pizza directly on gas grill grates, follow directions below.
5. Remove pizza and immediately grate additional Pecorino Romano cheese over pizza. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and crushed red pepper flakes to taste. Cut and serve.
Gas grill preparation: Heat all burners on high for 10 minutes. Lower the heat in the center of grill (3 or 4 burner grill) or the front burner (2 burner grill) to low just before placing pizza dough on grate. Dough will grill directly over low heat. If using a two burner grill, you will have to rotate the dough half way through the baking time. See basic directions for baking pizza on a gas grill.
*Stretch dough into a 14 by 12” rectangular shape making it quite thin in the center and leaving a border of slightly thicker dough approximately ½ inch wide around the perimeter.
Brush both sides of dough with olive oil and place on a large, rimless baking sheet that has been lightly dusted with cornmeal.
Carefully lift dough and lay it on the preheated grill (see instructions above). Close grill lid and grill for 3 to 5 minutes or until bottom of crust is lightly golden brown with darker grill marks. Remove from grill with tongs and place grilled side up on a flat baking sheet or pizza peel dusted with cornmeal.
Proceed with step 2 above from brushing dough with oil/anchovy mixture through step 3.
Carefully slide pizza onto grill, turning burner directly under pizza to low. Close lid and bake for 5 minutes. Check bottom of crust by lifting the edge with tongs. If it is browning too quickly, turn off burner under pizza and continue baking for 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully remove to pizza peel or flat cookie sheet. Proceed with step 5 above.
