Roman Pizza Series 2 of 5 - Summer Squash & Zucchini Pizza

Mmmm, Hmmm!

We took our trip to Italy during the month of August, and I’m not so sure I’d recommend going to Italy at that time because it was H*O*T and wicked humid. Most of the sites we toured were outside and a lot of the churches and museums we toured had their lines start outside, so respite from the heat was few and far between (but it did make a quite reasonable excuse for us to have gelato multiple times a day). 

One of my favorite sites we visited in Rome was the Colosseum; I thought it was such an enduring monument to the culture of the ancient Romans. It was built back in 80 A.D. and it’s still standing today. I think my favorite factoid about the Colosseum is that is could be emptied of its 50,000+ spectators in less than five minutes! Seriously, that’s amazing!! How many modern stadiums can say that?!?

The Colosseum

My hubby and dad overlooking the Colosseum.



Curtis and I at the Colosseum.



I don’t know about you, but when I’ve been in the heat and sweating all day, the last thing I want is a piping hot piece of food to eat…but that logic was thrown out the window while walking back to our hotel one afternoon. We passed a little pizza shop that was crowded with local business men and women that displayed the most magnificent looking pies in their window. My husband and I didn’t say anything to one another as we were passing, but when the questions arose “where do you want to go for dinner” we both had the same answer. We headed back to the little pizza shop and had us the most amazing pizza of our lives! I had a pizza with summer quash and zucchini, and this recipe is directly inspired by it. Enjoy!

Amazing Roman Pizza Shop

Roman Pizza Series 2 of 5 – Summer Squash & Zucchini Pizza

This just makes me smile!

A close up of a piece.

Cook’s Notes: Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter.

Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick.

This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough:

3 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1 2/3 C water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature

1 1/4 t table salt

1 1/2 t instant yeast

1 1/4 t sugar

3 T extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

Toppings:

1-14 oz can diced tomatoes

4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced and torn into pieces

½ of a summer squash, julienned

½ of a zucchini, julienned

2 large basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1.  Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

2.  Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

3.  Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4.  One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

5.  Drain the can of tomatoes over a bowl for 20-30 minutes.

This is what the tomatoes will look like after they've drained for 20-30 minutes.

6. Julienne your summer squash and zucchini. To see a quick little how-to video, click here. Place your julienned pieces in a bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil over the veggies, set aside.

7.  Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.

8.  Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.  Take the crust out of the oven and sprinkle with drained tomatoes, mozzarella, and summer squash and zucchini. Return to the oven and cook an additional 5-10 minutes.

9.  Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board and top with the chopped basil leaves. Let cool slightly and then slice and serve.

Serves 4-6

Source: Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen