Recipe of the Week: Pizza Margherita Fritta
I escort many gastronomic tours to Italy and one of my favorite places to go is the beautiful town of Sorrento, just south of Naples. The foods, the scenery and the people are outstanding. This is the recipe I learned from a delightful chef at a cooking school while there. Serves eight. (Chef tip: Make sure to have your oil hot and do not over crowd your pizzas or they will become greasy.)
8 cups vegetable oil
PIZZA DOUGH:
1 cup warm water (95°F-110°F)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose or 00 flour
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
TOPPINGS:
2 cups tomato sauce
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Fresh basil, as desired
Shredded mozzarella, as desired
Parmesan cheese, as desired
Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir yeast in warm water with sugar. Let stand until yeast dissolves and proofs, about five minutes. Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix flour, olive oil and salt in a food processor. Add proofed yeast mixture and process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth, adding more flour if dough is sticky. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about one hour. Punch dough down. Divide dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece of dough, place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and cover them with a clean towel and allow them to rest for 30 minutes. Stretch dough out very thin.
Heat oil in a 12-inch frying pan at 350°F. Fry dough until golden in color on both sides, remove and place on paper towel line sheet pan.
Place fry dough onto a baking sheet and top with tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella, drizzle each one with olive oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove and serve pizzas with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.