John Arena

John Arena’s Sicilian-Style Pizza

Name: John Arena’s Sicilian-Style Pizza
Cook time: 600 s
Total time: 2100 s
Yield: Makes 1 pizza
Ingredients: 1 Sicilian-style pizza shell - (see John Arena’s Sicilian-Style Pizza Dough recipe); 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 4½ oz yellow onion - (about ½ an onion), chopped; 1 clove garlic - chopped; 1 anchovy fillet; 28 oz can crushed tomatoes - (Bianco DiNapoli); 6 oz whole milk low-moisture mozzarella cheese - sliced; Dried Greek oregano - as needed; 2 oz pepperoni - sliced; 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1 wedge romano cheese - to serve; Basil leaves - to serve

This flavor packed pizza showcases the incredible results that can be achieved when the right technique combines with great ingredients and an exceptional oven. The goal of our Sicilian-style pizza is to present a pie that “looks like a brick and feels like a feather. With a little practice our recipe will produce a Sicilian-style pizza that has a crispy, airy exterior and an interior crumb structure that feels like you are biting into a cloud.

35 mins total time

10 mins active time

Easy

Makes 1 pizza

Ingredients

Measurements:

1 Sicilian-style pizza shell
(see John Arena’s Sicilian-Style Pizza Dough recipe)

Sicilian pizza sauce

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4½ oz yellow onion
(about ½ an onion), chopped
1 clove garlic
chopped
1 anchovy fillet
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
(Bianco DiNapoli)

Toppings (per pizza)

6 oz whole milk low-moisture mozzarella cheese
sliced
Dried Greek oregano
as needed
2 oz pepperoni
sliced
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 wedge romano cheese
to serve
Basil leaves
to serve

Instructions

1
Heat oil in saucepan over low-medium heat. Place onions in pan and cook until very soft and lightly browned. Add garlic and anchovy. Mash anchovy until it dissolves.
2
Add the tomatoes and using an immersion blender, puree until all ingredients are combined. Simmer sauce for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
3
Remove shell from refrigerator and unwrap it. Allow shell to come to room temperature (about 1 hour). Brush the rim with extra-virgin olive oil.
4
On the Smart Oven® Pizzaiolo with the interface magnet in place, press and hold the deck temp dial and turn the top temp dial from off to 350°F, then release the deck temp dial. The manual mode light will flash 3 times, then stay on to indicate it is in Manual mode. Turn the Deck Temp to 450°F, the Top Temp to 350°F and the Top Control to Even Heat. This can take up to 20 minutes.
5
Top shell with 3 oz of the sauce leaving ½-inch rim around the edge.
6
Place sliced mozzarella on pizza right up to sauce line. Sprinkle with oregano. Stripe pizza sauce diagonally using 5 oz of the sauce. Finish with pepperoni.
Tip: The remaining sauce can be stored in the refrigerator. Use within 3 to 5 days.
7
Once the oven has preheated, cook the pizza for about 12 minutes, turning 90 degrees every 3 minutes, or until the pizza is deep brown and the cheese has melted.
8
Remove pizza from oven. Top with a generous helping of freshly grated romano and basil and serve.