Posts Tagged ‘recipe’

Bruno’s Famous Clam Pizza

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I first met Bruno di Fabio in Columbus in 2004 when I was competing for the North American Pizza Pizzaz competition. He was making his pizza next to me and they had just called my name to go to the ovens. Our introduction began with a compliment.

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Bruno di Fabio with his award-winning Pizza al Taglio at the 2009 World Pizza Championships in Salsomaggiore Italy where he won Best Pizza In the U.S.A. 2009

“Nice pie,” he said in his unmistakable New York accent, just as I had lifted the pizza up on the peel.

“Thanks, dude.” I said looking at his. “Yours looks great too.” (I was lying, I didn’t care what his pizza looked like, he was my competition and I wouldn’t have cared if he fell over dead, his head careening into his sauce bowl and his cheese flying everywhere.)

“Thank you sir, and good luck. Just one thing…”

“What?” I stopped because he looked concerned.

“Oh, nothing.” Bruno shook his head, like he was fighting with himself to tell me something important. “I know something you can do to that pizza that will save you some time and might help you.”

“Really?” I put the pizza back down on the table and stared at it. “What?”

“See that can?” He pointed to a big garbage can.

“Yeah.”

“If you throw that piece of crap in there now and you won’t have to go through the humiliation of losing to me.”

It was my first immersion in the Bruno di Fabio laugh. An uncontrollable high-pitched nasal guffaw reverberated throughout the convention hall, loud enough to turn heads as far away as 50 yards. His face turned red as he slapped me and choked out in a high voice, “J…j…just jokin’ wit ya man. Hee, hee, hee. It looks great!”

More laughs followed as Bruno gasped for air, unable to contain his hysterical joy. I smiled and muttered, “Dick” under my breath as I walked to the ovens with my pie. But when I looked over my shoulder , I couldn’t help smiling broadly as I saw Bruno doubled over in laugh-pain.

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Bruno with another winning pizza in 2009, and on the stage with his gold medal and Ms. Italy for “Fastest Pizza Maker in the World,” 2007

I didn’t win that year, but I made a friend. Bruno’s one of those guys who has always been there when I needed help, especially at the World Pizza Championships in Italy. He has helped me sneak into Italian kitchens to prep, translated for me, bribed chefs, and has been my prep slave-sous chef and driver on tough foraging expeditions through the Italian countryside.

Bruno has proven that he would give me the shirt off his back, but he has never given me this damn clam pizza recipe. For two years, I’ve been bugging him. Every time I ask for it, he rolls his eyes and denies me.

My clam pizza obsession began at the World Pizza Championships in 2007. Both Bruno and I were staying with our team The World Pizza Champions at the sprawling Grand Hotel Astro Terme in Salsomaggiore Italy. The hotel, perched atop a green finger ridge, looks down on a steep valley filled with Gelato shops and a few bars.

One night, after a trip to the coast to get clams, Bruno hurried to the kitchen and made the most delicious clam topping that I’ve ever eaten. The next day he entered it as his Pizza Classico. He scored very high but didn’t win. Luckily, he won “Fastest Pizza Maker in the World” the next day.

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Bruno volunteered to be my sous chef and helped me  plate (L) and cut fresh pasta (R) in the finals of the Heinz Beck Competiton in Italy

I texted Bruno the other day and finally, the day is here. I got him to spill the beans…or the clams, so to speak. After he gave me the recipe, I drove for 3 hours to obtain some fresh littlenecks.

Here it is. Bruno di Fabio’s famous clam pie. I only had about 13 Littleneck clams so I had to add chopped canned clams. If you double the fresh clams in this recipe, it doubles the clam flavor.

One Easy Dough Recipe

3 tablespoons clam juice

12 or 13 Littleneck clams

1 tablespoon olive oil for the sauce and 1 teaspoon for brushing on the dough

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 thick sliced bacon slice, or 2 slices of Italian pancetta cut into small dice

1/4 yellow onion, chopped (makes 3 tablespoons)

3 tablespoons chopped clams (Bumble Bee is the best because they only use salt, not bad chemicals to preserve)

2 tablespoons white wine

1 can whole San Marzano tomatoes or whole California tomatoes, drained and hand torn into small pieces and left to drain again,  about 3/4 cup tomato flesh (make sure the tomatoes are not watery)

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan

1/2 cup whole milk grated mozzarella (premium quality because there are lots of bad mozzarella products on the shelves)

1 tablespoon chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley

Dust one dough ball with flour and keep it in a bowl covered with oil until the toppings are done. Preheat oven to 470 degrees with a thick upturned cookie sheet on the middle rack.

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Using a small saute pan on high heat, add the clam juice and the 13 clams. (If you have fresh clams, double the clam juice and upgrade to a larger pan.) Cover and steam for 5 to 8 minutes until all the clams have “popped.” This may take a few shakes of the pan to coax some clams open.

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Put the clams in a bowl. Place the juices in a separate bowl.

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Using the same pan under medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Add the bacon and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and onion. Saute for 5 minutes until the onion and garlic are translucent and the bacon is just gettting golden brown.

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Add the chopped clams, clam juice and white wine to the pan. Turn to high and reduce for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Saute for 5 more minutes stirring until the sauce is not watery. Take off the heat.

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Pull the pizza dough out to form a circle according to the Easy Dough Recipe. Place on parchment paper you have laid out on the bottom of an upturned cookie sheet. Brush with the extra virgin olive oil and dust with the Parmesan cheese. Place the mozzarella on the dough.

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Place the clam topping all over the pizza and slide the pizza and parchment onto the preheated cookie sheet in the oven. Bake for 6 minutes.

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Smile for the camera and place the opened clams on the pizza. Put back in the oven and cook for 5 more minutes or until the bottom is dark golden brown and the crust is a golden brown. Serve immediately. Thanks Bruno, yer GREAT!

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The World is My Oyster Pizza

“A brave soul was he who ate the first oyster.” Yeah, yeah, we’ve all heard that one before. Now I’ve got a new one for you: “A foolish soul was he who put oysters on a pizza.” Foolish maybe, but when combined with Brie, spinach, and an apple and fennel salad, this pizza turned out beautifully.

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Oysters have been an important food since the Neolithic period. The Greeks loved them and the Roman Emperors paid the same weight in gold for them. Maybe they knew that oysters are an excellent source of vitamins A, B1(thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), C (ascorbic acid) and D (calciferol). Four or five medium size oysters supply the recommended daily allowance of iron, manganese, copper, calcium, iodine, magnesium,  zinc, and phosphorus. Now that’s some serious nutrition.

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You might notice  34 shells, but only 12 oysters in the bowl. Hmmm…what does that Tabasco, lemon and my smile indicate?

Oysters have graced the table in numerous in stews, fried, au gratin, Rockefeller, stir fried, in chowder, with drawn butter or mignonette, but my favorites is a funky recipe from Savarin in one of my very old French cookbooks. Titled “Bordeaux Oysters,” the directions are simple: “Take a dozen ‘flat’ oysters very, very cold, a small sausage very strongly garlic flavoured, very heavily pimentoed, very hot to the tongue. You then take a bite of scorching-hot sausage, followed by a cooling mouthful of oyster. This is the only preparation with which one could, in a pinch, drink red wine (Bordeaux).”

Although not as spicy, garlicky or simple as Savarin’s recipe, this pie has all the elements an oyster lover would want as a last meal. I’ve combined the oysters with creamy French Brie, kicked up with a little Parmigiano Reggiano. I added a Granny Smith apple and fennel salad, balanced with some lemony acidity, for crunch. On top of it, a dark green nest of baby spinach nestles briny oysters cooked in spicy horseradish, basil, jalepeno and lemon.

After opening the Oak Room in Boston, I was lucky enough to be able to install a first class oyster bar in this beautful room. This included being taught how to shuck oysters and clams by guys who lived in Wellfleet on Cape Cod and had been shucking since birth. The first time I added cocktail sauce led to so much denigration from those chefs that I now forgo everything except hot sauce and or lemon. The true taste of the sea is a miracle.

Some oyster places pride themselves on shucking fast, but I like to shuck slowly. That way you don’t crack your teeth on shell bits. Here is my way of shooting straight through the hinge or “beak,” then cutting through the adductor muscle.

Using the Easy Pizza Dough recipe, make the two 7-ounce dough balls. Freeze one to use later but only after you know you won’t screw the first one up.

2 slices applewood smoked bacon

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil + 1 teaspoon for the crust

5 cups fresh baby spinach (pushed down tightly in a measuring cup)

2 red jalepenos, one smaller

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

3 large basil leaves

Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

12 medium fresh oysters in the shell, shucked using the above video, reserved with juices in a bow1/2  fennel bulb

1 Granny Smith apple

1 teaspoon grated Parmesano Reggiano

5 to 8 ounces good French Brie (don’t get the cheap stuff as it will turn to an oil slick on your pizza), sliced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place an upturned heavy cookie sheet on the middle deck.

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Cut the bacon strips lenthwise down the center, cut in half and stack on top of each other. Cut in small cubes.

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Sautee in a medium pan on high heat for 2 minutes. Add one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. (Good bacon does not exude much fat, so adding the olive oil will distribute the taste into the spinach.) Heat for another 2 minutes until the bacon is golden brown.

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Remove the bacon to a medium bowl, leaving the fat in the pan. Heat the fat on high.

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Place the spinach in the pan. Using tongs, toss the spinach for only 20 to 30 seconds. The heat will wilt the spinach very fast. Take it out of the pan immediately and reserve on a cool plate.

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Cut the top off one of the red jalepenos. Cut down the length of the pepper, then cut out the seeds and any white ribbing. Julienne one half of the pepper finely, and add to the bacon.

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Roll the 3 basil leaves into a tight ball. Cut fine strips from the ball, then cut across, creating small pieces.

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Add the horseradish, basil, hot sauce and juice from 1/4 lemon (about 1 tablespoon) to the bowl. Stir well, then add the oysters in their juice. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

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Peel the apple and cut in half lengthwise. Run the edge of half an apple along a mandoline (Japanese Benriner is best), or slice the half as thinly as possible, into matchsticks. Place in a medium bowl.

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Cut the fennel lengthwise. Cut the core out using a “V” cut and trim any discolored parts. Slide along the mandoline or cut paper thin. Add to the bowl with the apple. Squeeze 1/4 lemon (about 1 tablespoon) and 1 teaspoon water (this will distribute lemon better) and toss. Leave on the counter to soften and meld flavors.

Topping the pizza:

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Roll out the pizza round according to the Easy Pizza Dough instructions. Place dough disc on parchment paper. Grate Parmesan cheese on top, then place the Brie slices over top.

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Using the bottom of another upturned cookie sheet or a pizza peel, carefully slide the pizza onto the preheated cookie sheet in the oven. Cook for 11 to 14 minutes or until the bottom is dark-gold and the crust is golden brown.

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Cut the second, smaller red jalepeno with a very sharp knife to create rounds. Discard seeds. Pour only the oyster marinate from the bowl onto the cooked spinach and toss into the greens.

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Top the pizza with the fennel and apple salad, then make small nests with the spinach and place the oysters in the nests. (You will notice that the oysters have a pale opaqueness to them because they have been cooking in the acidity of the marinade, like ceviche). Scatter the remaining bacon, basil, and jalepeno on top, then top with the jalepeno rings.

Spritz with lemon and Serve immediatly. When complimented on this oyster pie, just say “Aw, shucks!”

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