Cherry Tomato and Pancetta Pizza
Yellow cornmeal to dust the pizza peel or olive oil to grease the pizza tray or the baking sheet
- One recipe homemade dough, preferably the Classic Pizza Dough or the Semolina Pizza Dough ; or 1 pound purchased fresh dough or frozen dough, thawed; or one 12- to 14- inch store- bought, prebaked plain pizza crust
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 ounces pancetta, diced
- 6 tablespoons Pizza Pesto or purchased pesto
- 6 ounces mozzarella, shredded
- 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 ounce Parmigiano- Reggiano or Grana Padano, fi nely grated
Instructions:
Talk about summery simplicity! Here’s a pizza for all basil- and- tomato lovers. Pancetta is cured, not smoked, Italian bacon, often rolled into rounds and used as a fl avoring for many stews and braises. Here, it should be diced into 1 ⁄4-inch cubes so they’ll frizzle and turn crunchy when fried.
- Fresh dough on a pizza stone. Start out by giving a pizza peel a light dusting with cornmeal. Place the dough at its center; use your fi ngertips to dimple it into a large circle. Pick it up and shape it with your hands holding its edge, slowly turning the dough until it’s about 14 inches in diameter. Set it cornmeal side down on the peel.
- Fresh dough on a baking sheet. Grease a pizza tray or a large baking sheet with olive oil dabbed on a paper towel or piece of wax paper. Lay the dough on the tray or baking sheet; dimple it with your fi ngertips into a rough circle— then pull and press the dough until it forms a circle about 14 inches in diameter on the tray or an irregular rectangle, perhaps 12 × 7 inches, on the baking sheet.
- A prebaked crust. Place it on a pizza peel if you’re also using a pizza stone—or place the prebaked crust right on a pizza tray or a large baking sheet.
- Pour the olive oil into a small skillet and set it over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring often, just until the fat has barely begun to turn translucent and the edges are a little sizzled, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
- Spread the pesto evenly over the crust, leaving a 1 ⁄2- inch border at its edge. Top with the shredded mozzarella.
- Place the cherry tomatoes cut side up across the pie in a decorative pattern. Sprinkle the diced pancetta over the top, then sprinkle on the grated Parmigiano- Reggiano. Slide the pie from the peel to the hot stone (take care not to dislodge the tomatoes)—or place the pizza on its tray or baking sheet either in the oven or over the portion of the grill grate that’s not directly over the heat or coals.
- Bake or grill with the lid closed until the crust is golden and the pancetta is sizzling and cooked through, 16 to 18 minutes. Use a fork to pop any air bubbles that may spring up at the edges or in the middle of a crust made from fresh dough. Slip the pie back onto the peel to remove it from the stone—or transfer the pie on the tray or baking sheet to a wire rack. Cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
- If you want to ensure that the crust stays crispy, slip the pizza off the peel, the tray, or the baking sheet after a minute or two, placing it right on the wire rack.