Focaccia pizza
better than takeout
Being able to make a really good pizza at home is a fabulous party trick, in my opinion, and isn’t as elaborate as it sounds. And since I’m sharing opinions here, I’ll add that a pan-pizza approach is 100% the way to go. For what most of us are working with at home (i.e., a standard oven), a focaccia pizza is the most obtainable version you can make. Even with all the strides that have been made with at-home pizza ovens like the Ooni or the Ninja, it’s just not going to render the same results as an actual brick pizza oven.
A focaccia pizza, however, is within reach. I start with my tried-and-true focaccia recipe and then top it with a super simple tomato sauce (typically) and go crazy with the toppings. It’s the kind of thing that you can prep the night before and, with relatively little work, have a better-than-takeout pizza that’s crispy and golden on the bottom, chewy and cheesy, and generally everything you’re looking for in a pizza.
The below recipe is for mozzarella and basil pizza. But some of my favorite flavor combos include:
red sauce, mozzarella, spicy Italian sausage, and broccoli rabe (the trick is to blacken the broccoli rabe first and give it a chop before topping the pizza)
red sauce, mozzarella, spicy Italian sausage, thinly sliced red onion, and mushrooms (I think it’s best to sauté the mushrooms before adding them to the pizza or slice them very thin. Otherwise, they’re too wet.)
red sauce, fresh torn basil, thinly sliced red onion, chorizo or nduja, and pickled cherry peppers
mozzarella, parm, and asiago (or whatever three-cheese blend you like), topped with fresh basil and handfuls of raw baby spinach or torn Dino kale. The trick is to drizzle with lots of olive oil and season with a big pinch of salt and a little pinch of red pepper flakes. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon when you pull it out of the oven.
BBQ chicken pizza with BBQ sauce, mozzarella (cheddar and Monterey Jack would be welcome additions), shredded chicken, and thinly sliced red onion
Everything you’ll need:
Pans! I love these ones for individual sized pizzas or these 1/4 sheet trays. I prefer both of these sizes to larger 1/2 sheet trays (meaning standard for most home ovens. Did you know sheet trays are all standard sizes? full, half, quarter, and eighth) because inevitably some of the olive oil always spills over while baking and I’d prefer that it spills onto another larger sheet tray rather than directly into my oven. A half sheet tray (this one comes with a metal rack which is perfect for cooling) works perfectly with 2 quarter sheet trays (this one also comes with a rack), or 4 eighth sheet trays on top.
Immersion blender or standard blender for making tomato sauce, but you already know I’m partial to an immersion blender. Especially for this specific task. If you don’t have either, simply buy the canned crushed tomatoes or buy canned whole tomatoes and crush them in your hands for a more rustic sauce.
If people are making their own pizzas, which is always fun, I think that having lots of little bowls works well to hold all of the various toppings. These nesting bowls work particularly well because there are lots of sizes.
