White Clam Pizza, New Haven Style – Connecticut

Cathy: New Haven Connecticut is famous for Yale, but for foodies, it’s an old haven for pizza, the most famous of which is the white clam pie at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, founded in 1925, born when Neapolitan immigrants settled in this US city. The locals call this famous pizza “apizza” (pronounced ah-BEETS) in their colloquial Italian-American.

This is a delicious and complex pizza that is actually very simple to make. I’ve included a great dough recipe, which I’m going to use from here on out (instead of the pre-made dough at Safeway). The topping ingredients are minimal, mainly clams, garlic, mozzarella and olive oil. How can you go wrong with those four food groups?

I used a pizza stone for the first time, making this dish. The first time was a fail, but I ironed it out by using much more cornmeal so the pizza can easily side onto and off of the stone in the 500 degree oven.

Total time: 2 hours 35 min Prep: 25 min Cook time: 10 min Yield: 1 – 12 inch pizza

Dough

• 3/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
• 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbl Olive Oil, plus more for oiling the bowl

Topping

• 3/4 cup chopped fresh clams (I used 6 whole clams, shelled and the rest canned good quality clams)
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbs cornmeal, for dusting
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella, optional
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• Salt
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
• Crushed red pepper, optional

1. For the dough, whisk together the warm water, yeast and sugar in a bowl. Set aside until the yeast activates and becomes foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour the foamy yeast mixture and the olive oil into the well. Using a fork, gradually incorporate the flour into the liquid mixture. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until very smooth, about 5 minutes.
3. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm area until the dough doubles in size, about 2 hours.
4. For the topping, in the meantime, mostly drain the clams, retaining about 2 tablespoons liquid. Mix together the chopped clams and juice, olive oil, oregano and garlic in a bowl. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
5. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and adjust the rack to the lowest level. Put a pizza stone or turned-over baking sheet on the rack while it preheats.
6. When the dough has doubled in size, turn onto a lightly foured surface and stretch into a thin circle (or rectangle if using a rectangular baking sheet). Dust a pizza paddle or turnover baking sheet with the cornmeal and place the dough on top; make sure it slide back and forth easily. If using, sprinkle the mozzarella all over the dough. Top evenly with the clam mixture and the parmesan. Season with salt.
7. Carefully slide the dough onto the hot pizza stone. Cook until nicely golden brown on top and bottom, 8 to 10 min. Slide the pizza paddle or large spatula until the pizza and carefully remove from the pizza stone. Sprinkle with the parsley and crush red pepper. Drizzle with more olive oil if desired.