Introduction
This recipe was delivered to my neighbors in March 2020. Yep, a COVID Cast Iron Pizza. You see, I have wonderful neighbors, and am lucky to have a neighborhood Italian Deli (which my daughter grew up eating school sandwiches from). Our neighborhood shared with each other as we learned what the future would be. This is the best lesson I learned during the pandemic.
Ingredient
- 1 pre-prepared Pizza Dough (*)
- Pizza Sauce – pre-prepared or homemade (option below) (*)
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – About 1 cup (*)
- Grated Pecorino Romano – About ½ cup (*)
Toppings of your choice
- Sliced Green Pitted Olives (*)
- Sliced Mushrooms (about 6)
- ½ onion, diced
- ½ cup fennel, sliced.
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Canola oil
- Dried Oregano (about 1 tablespoon)
- Salt, Pepper and Red Pepper flakes to taste.
*Note: All of these items can be purchased at your local store. In our case, we are lucky to have Lucci’s Delicatessen, which carries these items in stock.
How To Cook
1) Preheat Oven to 475.
2) Get out your Grandma’s 9 inch cast-iron skillet. If you don’t have one, any heavy-bottomed skillet will suffice.
3) With flour on the counter, stretch out the pizza dough so that it is slightly larger than the bottom of the skillet. Let this rest on the counter (it will pull back a bit).
4) A suggestion – Some toppings (onions, fennel, garlic and spices) are better if you soften them in a separate non-stick skillet. To this you can add the pizza sauce to allow it to warm up and take in some of the flavor.
5) Heat the cast-iron skillet on your stove. Add in canola oil to film the bottom (about 3 tablespoons) and bring to near smoking.
6) Carefully remove the skillet from the heat and place on a trivet. Re-stretch the dough if needed and set it into the bottom of the pan. If needed push the dough from the center outward to the edge of the pan to make fit.
(Optional note: If you stretch the dough farther, you can roll some of the cheese into the edges of the dough and make a “stuffed crust.” Be sure to pinch the dough shut before putting it into the pan.)
7) Assemble the pizza toppings. Lay on the sauce, but try to keep away from sides so it does not burn (tomatoes get bitter). Put on cheese, but allow this to go to the edge so as to fry part of the cheese. Put on other toppings, and sprinkle some Romano across the top.
8) Return the cast iron to the stove over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. This is the trick – it allows the crust to brown on the bottom and become crisp.
9) Put the cast iron in the oven for 12-14 minutes until brown and pizza-like on the top.
10) To serve, remove the pizza from the pan to a cutting board, as the pan is too hot to hold. It is easier to slice with a large knife than a pizza cutter.
You can also top it with additional toppings like parmesan, romano, basil or olive oil. And, of course, serve with a pretty good bottle of red wine.
LARRYLAND 
Leave a reply to Goodbye to a Local Market – LARRYLAND Cancel reply