I’ve been scratching my head over how to describe porchetta – so i got some help. Are you ready for a moment of Wikipedia wisdom?

Porchetta /por’ket:a/ is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood.  Porchetta is usually heavily salted in addition to being stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs, often wild.

Ahhh! I couldn’t have said it better myself.

It’s only logical that something as delicious as porchetta would end up on a pizza. To complement it i used a little tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, caramelized onions, artichokes and aged sheep’s milk and got one of the most succulent, spicy, yeasty, piece of pizza i’ve eaten in a coon’s age – but there’s no rule here – the sky’s the limit is the extremities of your pizza. Feel free to experiment but don’t skimp on the pork. Never. Ever.

Porchetta can be quite fatty depending on the cut,  but fear not my friends. Your 500’F oven will take care of that just fine and will turn those greasy bits into crispy bacon. You really can’t lose on this one.

Enjoy!

• Porchetta Pizza

• serves 6

  • Pizza dough:

  • 4 cups flour (preferably 00)
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp active dry yeast

  • For the pizza:

  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 2 onions, finely sliced
  • 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 4 -6 artichokes in oil, quartered
  • 1/2 lb porchetta, sliced
  • 6 ounces aged sheep’s milk cheese, grated
  • black olives (optional)

  • For the pizza dough:

  • Stir together the flour, salt, and active dry yeast in a large bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Stir in the olive oil and the water until the flour is all absorbed. Knead for 10 minutes.
  • If you are using an electric mixer, attach the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl.
  • Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until double. Punch it down and form the dough into a large ball, then cut it into 4 equal pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap and reserve in the refrigerator.

  • For the pizza:

  • Preheat the oven to 500’F and place a baking stone in the lower third of the oven.
  • Cook the sliced onions in a large pan with olive oil and thyme until they’re very soft start to caramelize. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Reserve.
  • Remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Gently press the dough into disks, using flour as necessary. Dust a peel with cornmeal and place the disk of dough on it.
  • Spoon tomato sauce over the dough, then arrange the caramelized onions, artichokes, pieces of porchetta and top with the shredded sheep’s milk cheese and olives, if using.
  • Cook for 12 to 14 minutes. Serve.

  

Tags: Pizza