Porchetta Pizza
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!
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Porchetta Pizza
- serves 6
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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
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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)
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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.
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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.
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Tags: Pizza
March 9th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Ok, ok I give in….no salad for tonight, just porchetta pizza!!!
March 9th, 2010 at 2:36 am
I like this. This is something I can make! Will be my dinner tomorrow.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:38 am
Thank God there are chefs like you around to make such beautiful creations. Don’t ever skimp on the pork.
Meanwhile, did you know I spied a frozen Tarte Flambee in the frozen food section of our deli here in Manila? I was a little horrified and morbidly curious.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:51 am
This pizza looks very delicious. I would love to try. I think you miss out something in your ingredients. Is it 1 & 1/2C water in the pizza dough ingredients??
March 9th, 2010 at 4:17 am
Porchetta pizza – brilliant idea – second only to eating a real porchetta sandwich in the towns around Rome where they are famous for it.
March 9th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
You had me at crispy bacon. Mmmm. Never skimp on the pork. Indeed.
March 9th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Oh, yummy! My mouth is watering. This pizza looks delicious.
March 9th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Evil! Porchetta pizza! LOVE IT! Nothing better than crispy pig parts on pizza.
March 9th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
You say porchetta and my eyes glaze over and I go to my happy place. So porchetta pizza is like my happy place times 10. I think I need some for breakfast.
March 9th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
oh my…porchetta goodness!
March 9th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Zen – I’m with you….long live the pig! Except of course, when you need to kill it to make porchetta, or bacon, or trotters, or…..
March 9th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Love it on a pizza.
We had porchetta in Phila last weekend with a tonnato sauce at Osteria. It was fantastic!
March 9th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
I justed posted about my cheater’s pita pizza, but I’d say your pizza looks much better and professional than mine lol
March 10th, 2010 at 1:35 am
Probably the most beautiful pizza I’ve seen!
March 10th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Pizza+Pork? Life doesn’t get any better than that. Trust me, I NEVER skimp on pork. I really need to try porchetta at some point.
March 10th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Good recipe, I’d like to try it soon. For the dough, do I use just tap water or should the water be warm and at what temperature??? Thanks!
March 10th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Ram — Room temp’ tap water works fine. Kneading the dough produce enough heat to activate the yeast.
March 10th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
I get great porchetta here in Modena from my local butcher and I still prefer to eat it just with fresh baguette. The taste of the garlic, vinegar and herbs come out so nicely this way. And I especially love the roasted rind.
March 11th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
I made/posted about making Porchetta during a blizzard we had last month. The fragrance, slow roasting all day, is intoxicating.
Fantastic pizza topping!
March 14th, 2010 at 11:27 am
Oh my, tell me this pizza is real. It looks so good, it’s unbelievable.
March 14th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Porchetta pizza: oh be still, my heart! This is brill.
March 24th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
Have you been to Porchetta on 7th st.? I thought it was terrible. You made this one, right?
March 26th, 2010 at 3:50 am
It is pizza which is my love.But i cannot do it at home by myself.