PIZZA A CABALLO — The Kitchen Scholar

SOURCE: DAVID GEISSER, ERWIN NIEDERBERGER, AND THOMAS KELLY. THE VATICAN COOKBOOK: 500 YEARS OF CLASSIC RECIPES, PAPAL TRIBUTES, AND EXCLUSIVE IMAGES OF LIFE AND ART AT THE VATICAN.

“The only thing I would like is to go out one day, without being recognized, and go to a pizzeria for a pizza.”, answered Pope Francis when asked what his one wish was in 2015. The pope never concealed his love of pizza into a secret. After all, he … — “The only thing I would like is to go out one day, without being recognized, and go to a pizzeria for a pizza.”, answered Pope Francis when asked what his one wish was in 2015. The pope never concealed his love of pizza into a secret. After all, he was the son of two Piedmontese immigrants in Argentina and grew up in the highly diverse district of Flores in central Buenos Aires. Therefore, it will not come as a surprise if media outlets find Pope Francis chomping down the Argentine-Italian fusion dish, *Pizza a Caballo* or “pizza on horseback”, should he return to his home country for a temporary visit. The horseback saddling on the pizza is *Faina*, a flatbread topping made from a batter of finely ground chickpeas that curls up during baking.

Ingredients

Bread Dough

2 1/4 teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast

1 3/4 cup/210 mL lukewarm water

2 tablespoons/30 mL extra virgin olive oil

4 cups/600 grams bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 1/2 teaspoons/9 grams sea salt

Faina Flatbread

1 cup/92 grams chickpea flour

1 cup/240 mL distilled water

1/2 teaspoon/3 grams salt

1/4 cup/60 mL extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons/30 grams Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon/4 grams semolina flour

1 cup/250 mL tomato sauce, preferably fresh and homemade

1/2 teaspoon/0.5 grams oregano, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results

1 teaspoon/1 gram finely chopped fresh basil leaves, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results

1/2 cup/50 grams cremini or button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced

1 cup/175 grams diced zucchini or courgette

8 ounces/227 grams Mozzarella cheese, sliced OR shredded

8 slices Faina bread

Specific Equipment

2 large mixing bowls

OPTIONAL: Stand mixer equipped with a bowl and a dough hook attachment

1 round baking pan having a diameter of 8 inches/20 cm

Parchment paper

Damp towel OR cloth

Heavy rolling pin

2 large pizza pans, each having a diameter of 10 inches/25 cm

Serves 4 to 6

Instructions

1. Dissolve the yeast in a large mixing bowl filled with 1/2 cup/120 mL lukewarm water. Let the yeast proof for 5 minutes. Stir in the rest of the lukewarm water and olive oil.

2. Combine the flour and salt in another large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, if desired until well-blended. Pour in the dissolved yeast slowly until the dough forms. Knead the dough on a well-floured surface by hand or with the dough hook of the stand mixer, if desired, until smooth. Shape the dough into a ball and place the dough on the same mixing bowl greased with olive oil. Cover the mixing bowl with a damp towel and set aside in a warm place to let it rise for 2 hours or until it doubles its size.

3. Prepare the Faina flatbread by combining the chickpea flour, 1/2 cup/120 mL water, salt, 2 tablespoons/30 mL olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and black pepper in another large mixing bowl. Rest the batter for 30 minutes. Thin faina batter with the remaining 1/2 cup/120 mL water.

4. Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C.

5. Line the round baking pan with parchment paper and grease with 2 tablespoons/30 mL olive oil. Pour the faina batter to the baking pan and bake for 10 minutes or until crispy. Remove faina from the oven and set aside to cool. Slice the faina to eight equal portions.

6. Punch the dough down to deflate it and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape each portion into smooth balls. Rest the two balls of dough covered by a damp cloth or towel for 20 minutes.

7. Raise the oven temperature to to 500°F/260°C.

8. Dust the pizza pans with semolina. Roll each ball of dough into a flat circle and that will fit each of the pizza pan. Place a flattened pizza dough on the pizza pan and spread over the tomato sauce. Sprinkle over the oregano and basil. Scatter the mushrooms, onions, and zucchini and sprinkle over the Mozzarella cheese. Repeat the same step for the other flattened pizza dough.

9. Bake the two pizzas inside the oven for 8 minutes or until the crust darkens and the Mozzarella cheese melts. Remove the pizzas from the oven and place the slices of Faina bread on top. Return the pizzas to the oven and bake for another 2 minutes or until the Faina bread curls up.

10. Remove the pizzas from the oven and cut the pizzas into slices for serving.

Feb 8 PIZZA A CABALLO