MORTADELLA Pizza
Preparing the dough at home is not impossible (for those who want to try, the recipe can be found here), but today’s recipe is for those days when you come home late and are as hungry as a wolf, and only a stuffed pizza can satisfy it… but you want it immediately!
In this case, precooked pizza or pinsa bases, which are easily found in almost all supermarkets, come to your rescue. There are various brands, and I recommend choosing semi-artisanal, smaller producers as they usually offer a better product.
Today we will use a ready-made pinsa base (because that’s what I had in the fridge, but a wood-fired oven pizza base is also great) to prepare a delicious Pizza with Mortadella, burrata stracciatella, and pistachios, a ‘Bolognese’ version in the choice of topping that I preferred over others because I love mortadella and find that the creamy stracciatella and the savory crunch of pistachios pair perfectly.
In the notes at the end of the recipe, you will find many other ideas to top your ready-made pizza or pinsa bases, letting your creativity and inner chef transform a simple dough base into an unforgettable evening!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2/3
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
2 ready-made bases of pizza or pinsa or for those who want to make the bases at home
- 4 cups Manitoba flour
- 1.35 cups water
- 1.35 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dry yeast
- 2 tsps salt
- 1.35 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 6 oz Bologna mortadella
- 9 oz burrata (or mozzarella)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 0.7 oz pistachios
Steps
For those who have time and want to try preparing the homemade pizza base, I list all the steps below. Otherwise, go directly to STEP 4.
Put the flour and yeast in the bowl of the stand mixer. Separately, mix water, oil, and salt in a glass. Turn on the mixer and gradually incorporate the water and oil emulsion until completely absorbed. When it’s the right consistency, the dough wraps around the hook and detaches from the sides of the mixer.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, divide it into two parts, knead them to form two balls, place them in two different bowls covered with plastic wrap, and let them rise until doubled (about 2 hours). Once the time has passed, place each ball in a greased pan, stretch the dough to form the pizza or pinsa. Let it rise for another 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven in static mode to 482°F or the highest temperature your oven can reach. In a bowl, emulsify water and oil to prepare a brine that you will brush over the surface of the pizzas, leaving out the edges. Bake the bases for about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the burrata into fairly small pieces (I usually ‘crumble’ it with my fingertips).
Take the pizza bases and start topping them by evenly distributing the burrata and a few strips of mortadella. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and bake for about 4 minutes: the cheese should start to melt.
When they are golden, remove them from the oven and place the mortadella slices on top. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of pistachio grains. Serve your Mortadella Pizza while it’s still hot.
NOTES
The convenience of ready-made pizza or Roman pinsa bases is that they can be stored in the fridge for up to 15 days, cook in a few minutes, and are ready to be topped as you like.
These bases, when cooked plain, typically take about 5 minutes to cook, while if topped, they should be left in the oven a few minutes longer.
For home ovens, it’s easy: just preheat the oven to its maximum temperature and bake the bases for 5 minutes for a light and simple topping (such as salt, extra virgin olive oil, and rosemary), or for 6/7 minutes (or until the mozzarella has uniformly melted) for more generous toppings.
Always check during cooking: the base should not dry out too much but should remain crisp and get a nice color on the edges.
Cooking times vary based on the amount of topping on your pizza or Roman pinsa and the type of oven, as every home oven has its settings, so be careful: check it during cooking; it might take a few minutes longer than the indicated time.
If you are making the pizza base at home, you can use fresh yeast instead of dry yeast, about 10 g is needed.
Rising times are approximate as they depend on the ambient external temperature.
IDEAS FOR TOPPING READY-TO-USE PIZZA OR PINSA BASES
1. ‘Genoese’ pinsa with chard and walnut sauce: Find the recipe HERE
2. ‘Neapolitan’ pinsa with sausage and broccoli rabe: Find the recipe HERE
3. Pinsa with sautéed porcini and pecorino: Sauté the sliced porcini mushrooms with a little olive oil and a clove of garlic, then top the cooked pinsa base with the sautéed mushrooms and shaved pecorino cheese.
4. Pinsa with squacquerone, arugula, and cured ham: Cook the Pinsa Base halfway, take it out of the oven, and add the squacquerone. Once cooked, add slices of cured ham and plenty of wild arugula.
5. Pinsa with pumpkin, fontina, and speck: Sauté the pumpkin in a pan with a little oil until soft and slightly golden. Meanwhile, cook the Pinsa Base and, once out of the oven, top with slices of fontina, pumpkin pieces, and speck cubes.
6. Pinsa with salmon, orange zest, and cottage cheese. Cook the base in the oven, and once ready, top with pieces of smoked salmon, cottage cheese, and grated organic orange zest.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is gourmet pizza?
This term is usually used to describe an innovative and sophisticated pizza made with high-quality ingredients or particular techniques.
Who invented pistachio and mortadella pizza?
The people from Bologna were the first to break the monotony and top pizza with mortadella, mozzarella, and pistachios.
What is the difference between Bologna and mortadella?
The difference between Bologna and mortadella lies in the composition of the meats. Bologna mortadella is made only from pork meat without added proteins. The slice shows bright pink with small fat cubes in a minimum percentage of 15%.
What is the true mortadella?
The true mortadella is the Mortadella Bologna IGP, a cooked sausage made exclusively with pure pork meat, cylindrical or oval in shape, pink in color, with an intense and slightly spicy aroma.
