If we were to vote on America’s favorite food chances are pizza would be the clear winner! In this episode of The Chef’s Pantry, Anna says to skip the Door Dash and make it at home. She starts with the dough, and she gives you her 35-minute easy recipe. But, if you are short on time, or just want to skip that step biggie, she has some great store brand alternatives and gives you some of her top picks, plus, Anna shows you her chef tips for prepping a restaurant-quality crust. Next, it’s all about the sauce and she is serving up a red and a white- sharing her secrets for making it bold and flavor-forward with things you probably have in the pantry. And then we move to the toppings. Anna says, “There are no rules, have fun, and try whatever you might be craving”. For these individual pies, there is cheese, but goes beyond just mozzarella- she has sausage, to prosciutto, and there is even a straight-up, but unexpected, veggie! Anna also gives you her must-have pizza-making tools and her tired and true cooking techniques, for that perfect slice.
Pizza Topping Inspiration:
- Garlic infused EVOO
- Ricotta
- Hot Honey
- Radicchio
- Pecorino
- Walnuts
- Garlic Oil
- Fig Jam
- Sliced Pear
- Prosciutto
- Blue Cheese
- Bagna Cauda
- Sausage
- Mozzarella
- Radiccio
For the Bagna Cauda:
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 heads of garlic, minced
- ½ cup EVOO
- 1 tin anchovy
- 8 TBS sweet cream butter
PREPARATION:
- In a small pot on medium low heat, infuse the minced garlic with EVOO for 20 minutes. The oil should be warm but not rapidly boiling. You want to gently convince the garlic to release flavor and infuse the oil but you do not want to fry and brown the garlic.
- Add the anchovy and cook over low heat for an additional 10 minutes.
- Add the butter and let it gently melt into the mixture for 5 minutes.
- Serve as a base sauce for your favorite pizza, as a pasta sauce or a dip for crusty bread or veggies.
- Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator and gently reheat to enjoy.
For the Red Sauce:
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 TBS EVOO
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2-3 large sprigs basil
- 1 28 oz can whole San Marzano tomatoes
- ¼ tsp red pepper
- Kosher Salt
PREPARATION:
- In a medium pan over medium high heat, heat EVOO.
- Add smashed garlic and basil sprigs. Infuse for 3-4 minutes.
- Add tomatoes. Lower heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. The tomatoes will begin to break down. Use the back of a wooden spoon to break them further.
- Taste and season with salt and red pepper.
