Pizza Toppings: Simple/Elaborate, Traditional/Unusual

[Daniel]

Mayo and Hard boiled eggs.. along with mozz and tomato sauce. I just dont like eggs myself. I think thats the rossini.

Edited January 24, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[slkinsey]

Well, I am probably somewhat uniquely equipped to answer questions about Rossini. His heroic "baritenore" roles (Otello, Antenore, Agorante, Pirro, etc.) are a specialty repertoire of mine, so I have made it my business to learn about him.

When I was at the Rossini Opera Festival, I had a Pizza Rossini or two at the osteria C'era Una Volta ("there was a time") just up the street and around the corner from the Teatro Rossini. It is a regular pom/mozz pizza topped with several quarters of hard cooked egg and drizzled with mayonnaise at the table. As you may imagine, there are any number of dishes to be had in Pesaro named after Rossini. I doubt he had anything to do with the pizza Rossini (although he did do his best work in Naples, the pizza capital). A relatively thin homemade mayonnaise with egg yolks and olive oil is definitely the way to go here.

[slkinsey]

- Any kind of shellfish.  Brush the crust with evoo; place some raw seafood about the crust (clams, mussels, bay scallops, shrimp & calamari are all winners -- you could even do it with lobster); perhaps a tiny sprinkle of chopped garlic; bake in the oven; dust with parsley, sea salt and crushed red pepper.  It's important that the crust be thin and the oven set up to fully bake the pizza in no more than 3-4 minutes, lest the seafood overcook.  It's important the seafood be raw so the juices cook into the crust.

I am confused.. When you say crust you are refferring to the entire top of the pizza.. Or actually just around the edges.

As mentioned above, you want the entire pizza (bottom and edge crust) to cook in 3-4 minutes so that the seafood does not overcook... (i.e. if the pizza took 10 minutes to cook the seafood would be rubbery!)

You could parbake the crust surely?? 5 - 10 minutes then add the seafood yes??

←

Wouldn't really work... The juices from the seafood wouldn't cook into the crust the same way. The way to do it is: easy on the toppings, very thin crust, very hot oven, very thick stone. 3 - 5 minutes in the oven.

[tcavallo]

OK, now I wish I took pictures of the many many pizzas I made at my party on Friday. These two were adapted from pizzas my GF's dad made us over the holidays, and while they aren't that that odd (other then using starchy toppings), they sure are good.

Similar to potato pizzas already mentioned:

Par-boiled small red fingerling potatos, sliced 1/8" thin

Thick cut pancetta pieces

Dollops of goat cheese

A bit of fresh mozzarella

Plenty of sage butter drizzled over it all

A very cheesy pie:

Gorgonzola

Goat Cheese

Feta

Fresh mozzarella

Navy beans

Garlic/oil drizzled over it all

[Daniel]

Made the bbq pizza tonight.. It had a bbq sauce base using dreamland bbq sauce.. Added some dry rub ribs from blue smoke.. Chopped scallions, red onions, monteray jack cheese.. And very little smatterings of mayo. Came out good..

[stephenc]

Tuna salad pizza.

Crust

Standard Tuna Salad

Cheese

Tomato

Bake.

[Lochina]

I'm having a BBQ later on this week and have decided that grilling pizzas is the way to go. I've never done this before and am excited to try it. I've noticed a number of you here on the site turn out spectacular-looking pizzas, grilled or baked, and am seeking suggestions for toppings other than the classic Margherita. Enlighten me!

Thanks!

[jmolinari]

Just fresh tomato slices, some basil, and maybe some mozzarella..but even without the cheese it is awesome.

jason

[annachan]

Wild mushroom and italian sausage with fontina....yummmm....carmelized onion and roasted garlic are great additions....

Edited July 25, 2005 by annachan (log)

[fiftydollars]

Smoked duck breast, gruyere, and yellow heirloom tomatoes.

[john b]

Olive oil, fresh herbs and sea salt.

[little ms foodie]

What about the crust? Are you using the same recipe as you would use in the oven? I want to try grilled pizzas too!

[john b]

What about the crust? Are you using the same recipe as you would use in the oven? I want to try grilled pizzas too!

←

I used a recipe I found by googling "grilled pizza recipe" and I wasn't thrilled with the crust. The next time, I'm going to use the recipe in "American Pie." There's also a grilled pizza article/recipe in August's Cooks Illustrated.

[Pam R]

I've grilled pizza several times using my usual crust recipe. Worked well.

Favorite toppings: basil pesto and roasted/grilled veggies

Caramelized onions, mixed roasted mushrooms, feta or chevra, thyme or oregano.

I was thinking about doing this for the weekend... Now I really think I will.

[Trishiad]

grilled chicken, roasted garlic and red onions with red sauce and cheese

grilled tritip with bluecheese and cherry tomatoes?

[Jean Blanchard]

Caramelized onions, fig jam (homemade or bought), blue cheese and toasted walnuts.

My normal crust recipe works just fine on the grill as long as the grill is really hot.

[Khadija]

I love mozarella, thin slices of asian pear, bacon, and a tiny sprinkling of reggiano.

[Lochina]

So, taking cues from each of your suggestions, I have decided on 3 pizzas:

- Classic Margherita

- Fontina with Prosciutto and Roasted Asparagus

- Combo of Fresh Mozzarella and Fontina with Spicy Italian Sausage, Grilled Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions

Serve with an abundance of mojitos and caipirinhas, and enjoy

[tonyMOstudent]

I need some suggestions of new toppings to put on a pizza. I am so tired of the norm- pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, etc. Has anyone been to any restaurants that has done something fresh or make their own sort of "super pizza"?? Suggestions?

[SobaAddict70]

Potato, anchovy and onion confit.

This is slightly more work than your average pizza topping. Here is a thread on onion confit, which btw you can use for just about anything.

Anchovies: I would use salt-packed instead of oil-packed. Soak the fillets in 1/2 c. milk for 30 minutes prior to using. Oil-packed is ok in a pinch.

Potatoes: peeled, thin slices in boiling salted water for roughly 10 minutes or until tender.

Arrange the potatoes on the pizza dough in overlapping slices. Add anchovies and onion confit. Bake as you would a normal pizza until done.

Add a drizzle of EVOO and maybe some chopped herbs and you're good to go.

Edited July 13, 2007 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[Live It Up]

I heard about a place here in NYC called Pinch that had fried chicken skins on the menu as a topping for pizza. I went there specifically to try them, but they don't do it anymore. Regardless, I think that sounds like the greatest idea ever.

[Bueno]

Canned in olive oil anchovy fillets are great on pizza, and I think everyone should give them a shot, definitely.

I like to stick to the Mozza mentality when it comes to pizza. Less is more, quality ingredients, prepared with care.

Their menu, for example:

Margherita with mozzarella, tomato & basil

Tomato, extra virgin olive oil & Sicilian oregano

Salumi salame ,wild spinach & cacio di Roma

Fennel sausage, panna & red onion

Funghi misti, fontina, taleggio & thyme

Gorgonzola dolce, fingerling potatoes, radicchio & rosemary

Coach farm goat cheese, leeks, scallions & bacon

Smoked paprika salame, mozzarella, tomato & fresno chiles

White anchovy, tomato & hot chiles

Egg, guanciale, asparagus, onion & parmigiano

Rapini, cherry tomatoes & anchovy

Bianco with fontina, mozzarella, sottocenere & sage

Squash blossoms, burrata & tomato

Prosciutto di Parma, rucola, tomato & mozzarella

Littleneck clams, oregano, parmigiano & pecorino

Lardo with rosemary

If you want 40 topping MEATSTRAVANZOID DELUXE-O-RAMA CHEESEFEST pizza, I'd suggest Dominos.

[rooftop1000]

California Pizza Kitchen rip off...carmelized onion, cheese, fresh garlic and teeny shrimp

tracey

[s_sevilla]

bechamel, sweet corn, cheese of your choosing (Something sharp), and bacon or prosciutto

wild nettles and gorgonzola

onions, tomatoes, chevre, and sauteed beet greens

I like topping mine with an egg halfway through the cooking process.

[Bueno]

s_sevilla: awesome taste.

Some more of my own:

Prosciutto, gruyere, sorrel

Corn, green onion, pancetta, olive oil, manchego

Tomato, watermelon, feta, olive oil, oregano

Bresaola, watercress, roquefort

Pesto, lamb sausage, mint, goats cheese