4 Giada-Approved Pizzas to Add To Your Repertoire
Who doesn’t love pizza? Nobody. Here are a few surefire takes on a favorite party food—and one for dessert!
I probably don’t need to sell you on pizza, do I? Hot, cheesy, savory, and chewy, these crusty slices of heaven are top sellers at my restaurant (and pizza joints around the country) for a reason. I have a special connection to ’za, though. The dough-sauce-and- cheese-layered variety we all know can trace its origins to Naples, where my grandfather was from. Some of my earliest kitchen memories are of making pizza with him, and when I spend time tossing and topping dough with my own daughter, it brings me right back to those happy times.
Like any Italian cook worth her salt, I have a few classic combos I come back to again and again. I love a Margherita, that classic whose red, white, and green combo of tomatoes, cheese, and basil was said to be inspired by the Italian flag and named after a nineteenth-century queen. But now and then I also like to play with other flavor pairings and with seasonal ingredients. If you feel like sampling a bunch of different tastes, well, there’s no better excuse that I can think of than to call up a few friends, fire up the oven, and start rolling out the dough for a pizza party.
Though you’ll want your offerings to run the gamut of topping possibilities, it’s smart to include a few basics. If you slice up good ol’ cheese or Margherita pies for your crew, they’ll be tempted to try your more adventurous offerings, too. My Margherita couldn’t be simpler: dough (you can make your own or pick some up balls at your local pizzeria or the grocery store’s freezer) and sauce made of canned crushed tomatoes, shredded mozzarella, and a few leaves of basil. That’s it. My Bianca Pizza is just as elemental, but not as everyday: flattened pizza dough sprinkled with salt and thyme, baked for 15 minutes, then topped with slices of mortadella.
Game day is just right for canapé-sized pizzettes. In the version here, earthy mushrooms and kale combine with pungent Gorgonzola for a cocktail-party-worthy bite that’s hard to pass up. And because everyone loves sweets—yours truly included!—I’ve fired up a calzone filled with creamy ricotta and chocolaty chocolate-hazelnut spread that’s a handheld bit of happiness.
Photo Credit: Ray Kachatorian
The Recipes
Roasted Mushroom and Kale Pizzette
| Total time: 35 minutes
Ricotta and Chocolate-Hazelnut Calzones
| Total time: 85 minutes
Margherita Pizza
| Total time: 102 minutes
Pizza Bianca
| Total time: 30 minutes
Giada, there is nothing better than a simple Margherita pizza. I have a Big Green Egg grill and make my own pizza on it. I am going to brag a bit but its the best pizza. I make my own pizza dough and sauce from my home grown tomatoes. I will have to take a picture of it the next time I make it.
Diane
Thank you Giada! The pizzettes are perfect for our post football game meal I thought about your lasagne but realized i would make it before and then finish baking it post game after it had been in fridge. That would not do your lasagne recipe justice!!The pizzettes and calzones are PERFECT. Our son is on the TCU football team and he will love this menu after his game!!! You are awesome!!
This made our day! Thank you!
hey girl- this pizza looks amazing! yummy for my tummy!