PHOTO PROVIDED Chef Loretta Paganini

When the heat gets to be too much for me, I turn on the grill and prepare my meals outside leaving the heat of the kitchen for the winter months. One of my favorite summer treats on the grill is to make pizza. It took me 30 years to realize that the best place to get the crispy flavor of Neapolitan pizza is to make it on the grill. Makes eight individual pizzas. (Chef tip: Make sure that you pre-heat the grill to hot and brush it with oil. Brush both sides of your pizza dough with olive oil once you see bubbles forming on the skin of the dough, flip over and cook for few more minutes.)

1 cup warm water (95°F-110°F)

1 teaspoon dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

3 cups “00” flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup basil olive oil, plus extra

TOPPINGS:

10-ounce bag frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, drained and chopped

1 cup kalamata olives, pitted, cut in half

1 cup arugula leaves, cleaned and trimmed

1 cup Fontina cheese, shredded

Place water in a bowl, stir in yeast and sugar. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it proof for 10 minutes in a warm spot. Mix two cups of flour with the proofed yeast. Mix with the help of a fork. The dough will be sticky and wet. Place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes or more in a warm spot away from drafts.

Add remaining one cup of flour, 1/4 cup of oil and salt. Mix ingredients well by hand or in a food processor. Work the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic; adding a little more flour or water, if needed. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it doubles in bulk for 40 minutes.

Brush with oil the clean grill grate. Fire up the grill. Punch down and divide dough in eight equal pieces. Roll out each piece to about 1/8-inch thick. Brush lightly with oil on both sides.

Place dough directly on the grill grate 4 to 6 inches above the heat. Allow dough to rise and puff and grill marks to appear. Grill about five minutes on both sides.

Remove from direct heat. Brush with additional oil and place off to the side. Repeat with the other pieces of dough. Place cheese, artichokes and olives on pizza and close the lid to cook for about five minutes. Remove from the grill. Prior to serving the pizzas can be topped with the arugula and drizzled with more oil.