A Pizza in the Roman Way

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Yield

Yield: 2-4 Servings

Ingredients

For a 8 ½ to 9 ½ inch pizza, the ingredients for the dough are:

1 generous cup plain unbleached bread flour
1 tsp of salt
¼ oz fresh yeast
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 Tbsp milk
1 whole egg

For the filling you will need:

1 ½ pounds of onion cut into fine rings
Olive Oil
Salt
Oregano

Instructions

Make sure the flour is at room temperature and mix in the salt.
Mix the yeast to a cream with 2 Tbsp tepid milk. Break the egg into the center of the flour. Pour in the creamed yeast and 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Mix to a light soft dough. If too dry, add the rest of the milk and another tablespoon of oil. Form into a ball. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise. Allow 2 hours.
While the dough is rising, stew the onions slowly, slowly, in fruity olive oil until quite soft and yellow. Season with salt and a good sprinkling of fresh oregano.
When the dough is ready, that is when it has just about tripled in volume and is light and puffy, break it down, shape it into a ball, and pat it out into an 8 ½ inch disk on a perfectly flat, oiled fireproof baking stone or baking sheet.
Spread the warm onions on the dough, leaving a little uncovered around the outer edge. Scatter a little more oregano and a little more olive oil over the filling and let rise for 15 to 20 minutes before putting it into the center of the oven to bake. Temperature should be fairly hot, 425°F, and the pizza will take 20 to 25 minutes to bake.

Notes

“In the pizzeria where I used often to eat when I spent a winter in Rome 25 years ago, by far the best pizza was spread only with onions stewed in olive oil and seasoned with oregano. The Romans themselves claim this as the only true pizza, and dismiss the tomato and mozzarella version of Naples as a fanciful upstart.” —Elizabeth David from her cookbook, Elizabeth David on Vegetables.

For more amazing recipes featuring vegetables from your CSA boxes, visit our recipe archives!