An old adage goes: “guests and fish begin to smell after three days.” So the rule for house guests is generally a three-day max, even for family. I’ve found myself stretching that limit, as a guest, for the fact that I’m a fairly competent baker and cook. Avoiding to smell like a fish, I reinvent myself as the favorite personal chef for my host(s). Who wouldn’t want that? In that role, I have to make do and work in kitchens without my usual setups and myriad of kitchen gadgets. The key, however, is finding simple and accessible recipes with popular appeal. Sourdough, not really. Yeast and straight dough, yes. A no-roll stuffed pizza with ricotta and arugula recipe fits the bill. It works in any kitchen, anywhere, as long as there is an oven or a fire.
For the pizza dough, you really can’t go wrong with a high-hydration wet batter-like dough of the Roman-style pizza bianca. It’s super crispy, yet chewy and bubbly inside. After mixing together all the ingredients in the stand mixer, I let the dough sit for a few hours in an oiled bowl until it triples in volume. Then transfer the dough to a large baking sheet and press the dough from the middle toward the edges of the sheet. No rolling is necessary; it’s very user-friendly. Anyone can do this.
The only downside for any yeast dough is its short shelf life. Unrisen dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours after you take it out of the fridge, before the final proofing and baking. A full recipe makes a pizza the size of a half sheet pan (18 x 13 inch); a half recipe makes a quarter sheet (9 x 13 inch).
In the New York Times, David Tanis highlights in the weekly food section: “When Pizza is More than Just a Pie.” He writes about a Sicilian take on the pizza dough that’s cut open and eaten like a sandwich. I was intrigued. You may call it focaccia or cabucio. It is basically a stuffed pizza or flat bread that can be put together easily at home together with whatever antipasto items you have on hand. Try this no-roll stuffed pizza with ricotta and arugula for pizza nights. A novelty and a crowd pleaser.
Proofing pizza dough stretched out on a half sheet pan
Crumb and crust shots of the pizza bianca
I used some anchovies, olives and roasted peppers. Smeared the bottom half of the cut pizza with homemade ricotta and piled high with arugula from the garden and antipasto from the pantry. Put the top of the pizza half back on. It makes for a special pizza night with a novel approach to the conventional pizza bianca dough. It’s well worth my time in making it at home or anywhere. The pizza has a shatteringly light crust that almost feels like that of a baguette. However, like the baguette, the crusty mouth feel lasts only hours, if not minutes, after it has been baked. But when it is fresh off the oven, there is nothing quite like it!
Staying with friends and family, you’ll always be welcome when you can make pizza with a new twist like this no-roll stuffed pizza with ricotta and arugula in their kitchens.
Sicilian Stuffed Pizza With Ricotta and Arugula
Ingredients
- Fine semolina, for dusting
- 8 ounces pizza dough (store-bought or homemade), rolled in a ball and held at room temperature (see recipe)
- 8 ounces very fresh ricotta, drained Extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 to 8 anchovy fillets, rinsed and blotted
- A few strips of roasted sweet pepper
- A few basil leaves
- Salt and pepper
- Crushed red-pepper flakes
- ¼ cup grated aged pecorino cheese, such as pepato
- 2 large handfuls arugula, preferably not too tender
Instructions
Turn oven to 450 degrees and put a pizza stone on the middle shelf to heat for 20 to 30 minutes. (Alternatively, use a heavy-duty baking sheet.)
Sprinkle a clean work surface lightly with semolina. Place the pizza dough on top and push down with your hands, flattening it. Dust lightly with semolina, if it seems sticky. Press down and outward with fingers to a diameter of about 8 inches. (You may use a rolling pin if you prefer.)
Sprinkle more semolina beneath the dough so it will easily slide as you begin to stretch it in all directions to a diameter of about 10 inches.
To transfer the dough to the oven, slide a pizza peel (or something similar, like the steel, rimless bottom of a tart pan or a stiff piece of cardboard) under the dough. There should be sufficient semolina on the bottom of the dough to keep it from stickling to the peel.
Transport the dough to the oven and quickly slip it from the peel onto the pizza stone. In a few minutes it will begin to puff. Let it bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned and well puffed. Remove from oven and place on a cutting board.
Use a knife to cut all the way around at the edge, separating the top half from the bottom. Add the fillings: Spoon the ricotta in blobs to cover the surface, then smooth briefly. Drizzle ricotta with 3 tablespoons olive oil and arrange randomly the anchovy, pepper strips and basil. Season lightly with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste.
Cover everything with pecorino and arugula and put the top back on the pie. Use a large knife to cut the pie in half, then in wedges of what ever size you with. Serve immediately.
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