Red Clam Pizza Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, combine the clams, the reserved clam juice, olive oil, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Set aside.
• Spread the pizza dough into a large oval on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and half of the Pecorino Romano. Scatter over the clam mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the dough.
• Bake until the crust is golden and crisp, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer to a cutting board and sprinkle over the remaining Pecorino Romano, some fresh oregano leaves and more red pepper flakes. Slice and serve.

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of oven; place a pizza stone on rack. Preheat oven to 500 degrees at least 30 minutes before cooking.
• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and bay leaf; cook, stirring, until vegetables are soft and fragrant. Add wine and cover pot; bring liquid to a boil. Add clams, cover, and cook, until clams have opened, about 5 minutes. Remove clams from pot and let cool. Remove clams from shells, discarding shells; set aside.
• Strain liquid into a medium saucepan; discard solids. Cook liquid over medium-high heat until reduced and thickened. Add cream and continue cooking until reduced and thickened. Remove from heat and let sauce cool.
• Divide dough into six equal pieces; shape one piece into a 10-inch-round on a pizza peel or the back of a baking sheet. Spoon just enough of the clam sauce over pizza to cover. Top pizza with 9 clams and sprinkle with pepper flakes.
• Carefully transfer pizza to pizza stone and bake until pizza is crisp and nicely browned. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately; repeat process with remaining dough and toppings.

Steps:

• Make the pizza dough as directed in the master recipe. Stick a pizza stone in the oven and preheat them to 500 degrees F.
• Wash and scrub clams well to remove the exterior sand. Fill a steamer or pot with 1-inch of water, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and toss in the bay leaves. Heat until the water is simmering and then add the clams. Cover and steam for 5 to 10 minutes until the clams open - discard any that do not. Remove the clams from the shells, coarsely chop them up, and put in a bowl. Add the lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Coat a saute pan with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, and oregano. Cook and stir until the vegetables have cooked down and are really soft, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
• Spread the ricotta evenly on the crust with a back of a spoon. Scatter the chopped clams all around and top with the sauteed red pepper mixture. Distribute the pieces of bacon on top. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp, and the cheese is bubbly.
• Before cutting the pizza into slices, drizzle with olive oil, grate pecorino on top, and shower with chopped parsley.
• In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Turn the mixer on low and add the salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium; stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough by squeezing a small amount together: if it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour - 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the dough gathers into a ball, this should take about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times; kneading until it's smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a round and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e. over a gas pilot light) until doubled in size, about 1 hour. This is a good time to stick a pizza stone in the oven and preheat them to 500 degrees F.
• Once the dough is domed and spongy, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter. Roll and stretch the dough into a cylinder and divide into 3 equal pieces. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes so it will be easier to roll out.
• Roll or pat out a piece of dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Dust a pizza paddle with flour and slide it under the pizza dough. Brush the crust with a thin layer of olive oil, and top with your favorite flavors. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Yield: 3 pizza crusts

Steps:

• Spread pizza sauce over the surface of the crust, leaving a 1/4 inch border.
• Sprinkle with garlic slices and capers.
• Spoon clams evenly over top.
• Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
• Bake according to the directions for your chosen crust.
• Pass cheese at table for those who prefer it.

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone or tiles on the middle rack of your oven, and turn heat to its highest setting. Let it heat for at least an hour.
• Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 2 cups of water and 3/4 cup of the wine, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open after 15 to 20 minutes should be discarded.) Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. Remove clams from shells, chop roughly and set aside.
• Rinse out the pot, and return it to the stove. Add butter, and turn heat to medium low. Add bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the bacon has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon from fat, and set aside.
• Add the leeks to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and half of the parsley. Continue cooking and stirring until the leeks are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes more.
• Stir in the remaining wine and approximately 1 cup of the reserved clam stock (save the rest for another use), and continue cooking until the liquids have reduced almost to syrup.
• Add cream and black pepper. Let the mixture come to a bare simmer, then allow to reduce and thicken, then add reserved clams and remove from heat. (You can do all this the day before you make the pizza, then refrigerate until ready to use.)
• Make the pizza. Lightly flour a work surface, and stretch or roll the dough into a 12-inch round. Place on a lightly floured pizza peel or rimless baking sheet. Using a pastry brush or a spoon, lightly paint the surface of the dough with some of the cream from the clams, leaving a half-inch border all around. Then top the pizza with the chopped clams, bacon and leeks, and the cheese. (If there is any remaining liquid, you can lightly - lightly! - drizzle the pie with it.)
• Shake the pizza peel slightly to make sure the dough is not sticking. (Gently lift any sections that are sticking, and sprinkle the peel with flour.) Carefully slide the pizza directly onto the baking stone in one quick, forward-and-back motion. Cook until the crust has browned on the bottom and the top is bubbling and browning in spots, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley, the lemon zest and red-pepper flakes to taste, then serve.

Steps:

• If using fresh yeast, mix water and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer until yeast is dissolved. If using active dry yeast, mix water and yeast in the bowl and let sit until the yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Using a dough hook, beat in flour and salt and mix until smooth, slightly elastic dough forms, 2 to 3 minutes; do not knead.
• Place dough in an oiled bowl, turn dough to coat, cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, and up to 48 hours to proof.
• When you are ready to make pizza, divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece by using the palm of your hand to rotate the dough clockwise until a tight, compact ball has formed. Turn dough over. Working from the outside in, pinch and twist the edges of the dough into the center to make a very tight ball. Put dough on a baking sheet and return to the refrigerator to rest for a least 4 hours, and up to 12 hours.
• When you are ready to make pizzas, remove dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (take the dough out of the fridge while you preheat the pizza stone). You can let it sit out longer, as long as it doesn't get too soft and floppy, which would make it difficult to shape; soft dough is also more likely to stick to the baking sheet or pizza peel, making it harder to slide onto the stone. If the dough gets too soft, stick it back in the fridge for 10 minutes or so to give it a chance to firm up. Shape and top as desired.
• For Clam Pizza:
• For the pizzas: Preheat the oven to 500°F, with a pizza stone on a rack in the top third of the oven. Let heat for 1 hour. Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking.
• While the oven heats, place 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it is limp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 7 minutes, until the edges are golden. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Add the clams, cover the pot, and cook until the clams start to open, about 10 minutes. As they open, transfer them to a large bowl. When all the clams are cooked, simmer the liquid in the pot until it reduces to a thick glaze, about 10 minutes. Add the cream, bring to a simmer, and reduce by a quarter, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and set aside. It thickens as it cools.
• Meanwhile, when the clams are cool, pluck out the meat and discard the shells.
• Turn a large baking sheet upside down, or use a pizza peel. Dust the surface with flour. Form one piece of the dough into a 12-inch round and set it on the baking sheet or peel.
• Working quickly, paint the entire surface of the pizza with one-fourth of the glaze. Scatter the clams over the pizza and sprinkle with chili flakes.
• Jiggle the pizza gently on the pan (or peel) to make sure it is not sticking (if it is, loosen it and sprinkle a little more flour under the area where it stuck). Slide the pizza onto the hot stone, making sure to start at the stone's back end so that the entire pizza will fit on it.
• Cook the pizza for 3 minutes. Turn on the broiler. Broil the pizza until golden, crisp, and a bit blistery and charred in places, 2 to 4 minutes (watch it carefully to see that it does not burn). If you don't have a peel, use tongs to slide the pizza onto a large platter. Drizzle with oil and scatter with one-fourth of the parsley.
• Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings.