feed me comfort food

Recipe: Pizzetta with ’nduja

Cookbook author Vanja van der Leeden won the Golden Cookbook in 2019 with her book Indorock. After diving into Indonesian cuisine, Vanja is back. This time with swinging Italian recipes collected in Italopop. From pasta to pizza and antipasti to gelato: Italopop is the ideal cookbook for lovers of Italian cuisine who occasionally want to put something more daring on the table — with all the risks of angry Italian nonnas that entails.

Foto van culinair journalist Lauretta Baarends

door Lauretta Baarends

Vanja: “With ‘nduja, it’s easy to score points, because even a turd tastes good with this spicy spreadable sausage from Calabria. But it’s perfectly fine to score easy points every now and then. I combine the fatty, smoky ‘nduja with an egg with a runny yolk and fresh, thinly sliced sprouts and dill. Tarragon would also be delicious here, but they don’t have it in the village where I now live. The quantities below are for two midi pizzas; adjust as needed.”

How to make the pizza dough

Kneading

Mix the flour with the salt and tip onto a clean work surface. Make a well in the centre. Pour some of the water into the well and mix with the yeast. Make circular movements with your hands and mix the flour into the water. Gradually add more water and mix until you have a rough dough. You can optionally add a drop of oil now. Bring everything together. Push the dough away from you with the palm of your hand and keep turning it so you don’t work the same spot repeatedly. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and supple. Shape into a ball. You can also make the dough in a food processor using the dough hook.

Proofing and rising

Place the ball in a large, oiled bowl and cover with cling film or a damp tea towel. Leave the dough to rise outside the refrigerator for about 2 hours in a warm place, until it has doubled in volume. Let it mature in the refrigerator for another 24 hours. Giving the dough time is important for its flavour, texture and digestibility. After 24 hours, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes.

Shaping into balls

Divide the dough with a dough scraper into pieces of 200 to 250 grams. Take one piece and shape it into a round disc; fold the dough underneath towards the centre so that the top becomes smooth and rounded and tension develops. Make sure all the folds are underneath the ball and press them inward. Place the ball on your work surface, put your hand over it, lightly enclose the dough and make circular movements until you have a tight, round ball. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the balls with space between them in a large container. Cover the container so the balls do not dry out. You can also place them on a baking sheet covered with a damp cloth. Leave to rise for another 2 hours.

Stretching

Take a ball and place it on a surface dusted with semola. Flatten the ball from the centre, turn it over and repeat. Use your fingertips to press the dough further outward from the centre, leaving the edge untouched; this will become that beautiful, high crust. You can also place the dough over your fists and gently stretch it. Shake off the excess semola.

Topping and baking

Place the pizza base on a pizza peel and top with a filling of your choice. Slide the pizza into the oven, shaking the peel if it does not release. How long you bake it depends on the oven you use. Allow 5 minutes in a pizza oven and 10 minutes in a conventional oven.

How to make pizzetta with ‘nduja

Preheat the oven for 1 hour before baking to its highest setting (top and bottom heat, no fan, unless you like dried-out pizza) and place a pizza stone in it immediately.
Clean the sprouts and use a sharp knife or mandoline to cut them into wafer-thin slices. Lay the last pieces of the sprouts somewhat flat to spare your fingers and cut them into thin strips. Mix the sprouts in a bowl with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt, and massage briefly so the flavours can infuse.
Tear the mozzarella into pieces.
Spread tomato sauce over 2 midi pizza bases and top with mozzarella.
Divide the ‘nduja over them and slide into the oven. Bake for 5 or 10 minutes, depending on which oven you use. Remove halfway through, crack an egg onto each pizza and cook for a few more minutes until the white has set.
Sprinkle with the finely sliced sprouts and dill fronds.