Читать книгу Bianco: Pizza, Pasta and Other Food I Like - Chris Bianco - Страница 16

SONNY BOY PIZZA

This pizza was born of two contradictory impulses. On the one hand, I wanted to do a pizza that I felt like someone from the old neighborhood would dig, something they would recognize. To me, pepperoni pizza is an iconic New York-style pizza. On the other hand, I wanted to somehow preempt people’s tendency to order automatically, like “Give me a cheese pepperoni!” and so I could say to customers, “Well, we don’t have that, but you might like this.” I sought out a really good-quality soppressata, which has a similar fattiness and spice profile to pepperoni. I love the coarse texture of it, all that good porkiness and salinity, which is so beautiful married with the acidity of the tomato sauce. But you could also use finocchiona, coppa, or your favorite salami—or, if you like, by all means pepperoni.

I don’t usually use a lot of olives, but I like them here, both because they echo the canned black olives that might share space with old-school pepperoni pies and because the combination of olives and salami reminds me of a classic antipasti plate. And for me, the Sonny Boy is kind of like an antipasto. It’s my favorite of the pizzas to share and to have a slice or two. And it’s almost too salty, in a good way, without going over that edge. In case you’re wondering, I named it after my dad. Sonny Boy was his nickname growing up—he hated it, and I’m a smart-ass. He likes the pizza, though.

Getting the salt balance right is the make-or-break factor for this pie, and you have the best opportunity to refine that by tweaking the olives you use. Make sure you taste them, before you add them to the pie. If they’re super salty, you’ll want to cut back on them. You’re looking for balance with the fat, acidity, and crispy bits.

Makes one 10-inch pizza

One ball Pizza Dough, rested and ready to shape

6 tablespoons Crushed Tomato Sauce

A pinch or two of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)

2 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn into cubes

1½ ounces thinly sliced soppressata (about 10 slices)

8 to 10 Kalamata, Gaeta, or your favorite olives, split and pitted

A pinch of dried oregano, preferably wild

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven (remove the rack above it) and place a pizza stone on it. Turn up your oven to its maximum setting and let that baby preheat for a solid hour.

Grab a pizza peel and give it a nice, light dusting of flour. Shape the dough as directed and set the dough on the floured peel. Jerk the peel to make sure it’s not sticking. If it is, lift the dough and dust the underside with extra flour (or, if no one is looking, blow under it very gently). Tuck and shape it until it’s a happy circle.

Spoon the tomato sauce evenly over the pizza, using the back of the spoon to help spread it, starting from the center and stopping about ¾ inch—a fat thumb’s width—from the edges. (With a hand-crushed tomato sauce, the consistency of the sauce over the pizza’s surface will be uneven. It’s inevitable.) Sprinkle the Parmigiano, if using, over the sauce. Let the spots where the tomato sauce is thinner guide you as to the placement of the mozzarella—hit those drier spots with a bit more mozzarella. Add the soppressata, spacing it evenly, followed by the olives. Then crumble the oregano over the pizza, pinching it firmly to activate its flavor and aroma.

Open the oven and, tilting the peel just slightly, give it a quick shimmy-shake to slide the pizza onto the pizza stone. Bake the pizza for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is crisp and golden brown.

Remove the pizza with the peel. Enjoy immediately!