Last month, we broke down some of the hottest trends in the pizza business in our Pizzeria Industry Trends Report. This month, let’s put the trends into practice with delicious recipes featuring some of this year’s hottest pizza toppings.
Oh, Pistachio!
Pistachios are not new to the pizza menu, but the nut is finding a resurgence and Pizza Today is here for it. One of our all-time favorite recipes is the Mortadella and Pistachio Pizza. Let’s update it by taking half of the crushed pistachios and creating a dust that you work into your crust while stretching.
- 9-12-ounce dough ball
- 6 or 8 thin slices Mortadella
- 6 ounces burrata
- 6 slices whole-milk mozzarella
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons (half crushed/half dusting) pistachio nuts
- Basil, chiffonade
- Drizzle of chili oil
- Stretch dough to desired size, working in the pistachio dusting.
- Drizzle and spread olive oil. Evenly distribute mozzarella slices. Bake until golden.
- Remove from oven and cut into desired slices. Fold 1 piece of mortadella for each slice. Tear burrata into bite-sized pieces and evenly distribute around pizza.
- Sprinkle pistachios then basil. Drizzle chili oil. Serve.
Ricotta With a Little Extra
Ricotta is perfect to dollop on pizza pre- or post-bake. You don’t have to stop there. Because of its mild flavor, ricotta is a great canvas for mixing in flavors. Calabrian chile (another trending topping) hot honey, lemon juice, and a myriad of herbs and spices all pair well in this context. You can even go sweet. The most divine example was a pizza we had while in Denver at Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza that featured a Dolce Pizza with an incredible ricotta blended with powdered sugar and chopped almonds. Luckily for us, owner Mark Dym shared the recipe.
- 1 pizza dough, fried
- 4 ounces sweetened ricotta *see below
- Drizzle of clover honey
- 2 ounces almonds, toasted
- 1 ounce powdered sugar
- *Blend ricotta, powdered sugar and chopped almonds together to make the sweetened ricotta mixture.
- Stretch pizza dough into shape. Lightly fry in a skillet. Let cool.
- Top with sweetened ricotta mixture and drizzle with clover honey. Finish with toasted almonds and powdered sugar.
Hello, Chorizo!
This flavor bomb sausage is becoming a must-carry item! Tailor a special that swaps out traditional sausage for the spicy aromatic chorizo. It will pique the interest of your curious diners. You can also create something that capitalizes on the cuisine, like this Spanish Chorizo & Manchego Pizza. It provides a unique hit of Spanish flare to your menu.
- 14-ounce dough ball
- ½ pound Spanish chorizo, ground
- ¼ cup piquante peppers, chopped
- ¼ cup shredded manchego
- ¼ cup mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup mild salsa
- Chopped cilantro, for garnish
- Toss dough to desired size. Top with mild salsa (if you’re using a spicy chorizo, a mild salsa will keep the heat to a minimum).
- Cook ground chorizo and drain fat on a paper towel. Add to pizza.
- In a small bowl, blend mozzarella and manchego. Top pizza with cheese. Add sweet-hot piquante peppers.
- Brush dough with olive oil for a brown finish and bake at 450 F (or your own oven’s bake temperature) until baked.
- Add chopped cilantro and serve.
Getting Figgy
Pizza fanatics are crushing on figs on pizza. They are gorgeous and can elevate a basic white pie. One of the best combinations is sweet figs with salty and savory prosciutto. Get really crazy and add a cheese with zing like goat cheese, bleu cheese or Gorgonzola. Pizza creative genius John Gutekanst created this pizza to hit all the flavor notes.
- 16 ounces proprietary pizza dough
- 3 ounces aged mozzarella
- 2½ ounces Gorgonzola
- 8 dollops of jarred fig jam or house-made fig jam
- 1 handful of baby arugula (approximately 1½ cups)
- 6 to 8 slices of thinly-sliced Prosciutto di Parma
- 3 large figs cut into approximately 12 wedges
- 2 tablespoons of half-crushed Marcona almonds
- 4 to 6 more dollops of diluted fig jam
- 1 “rope” of extra virgin olive oil
- Create a 12-inch disc using your proprietary dough and place the mozzarella and Gorgonzola on the disc. Place into a 550 to 600 F oven and bake for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Pull from the oven and dollop the fig jam on the pizza. Return to oven. Bake until the crust is golden and the cheese has melted along with the jam.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the arugula on top of the pizza, spreading evenly across the whole top.
- Grab each slice of prosciutto and twist to place in a “spoke-wheel” pattern atop the pizza. (You can also place the slices flat across the whole pie.) Place the fig wedges across the pizza and then sprinkle with the almonds.
- Dollop more fig jam and swirl with the extra virgin olive oil.
