The Brooklyn

By Tony Gemignani

This simple, satisfying Sicilian is modeled on the style served for more than seventy years at L&B Spumoni Gardens in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. It’s topped “inverted-style,” with sliced whole-milk mozzarella added first and tomato sauce on top like a traditional tomato pie, so you get that intense reduced-tomato flavor. If you want to add other toppings, like Sautéed Mushrooms or pepperoni, keep the quantity light; you can scatter the toppings right over the sauce before baking, Bensonhurst-style.

Recipe from The Pizza Bible by Tony Gemignani.

“The Brooklyn” Sicilian-Style Pizza

Ingredients

1 parbaked Sicilian Dough
12 ounces (340 grams) whole-milk mozzarella cheese, sliced (12 slices)
1-1/2 cups (370 grams) Sicilian Tomato Sauce (see accompanying recipe), at room temperature
Olive oil, for drizzling if needed
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese, for dusting
Dried oregano, for dusting
Garlic Oil (see accompanying recipe), for drizzling

Sicilian Tomato Sauce

17 ounces (480 grams/2 cups) ground tomatoes, preferably 7/11 or DiNapoli
8 ounces (225 grams/ 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons) tomato paste, preferably SuperDolce
1-1/2 teaspoons (1 gram) dried oregano
1 teaspoon (3 grams) finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon (5 grams) fine sea salt
8 ounces (225 grams/1 cup) hand-crushed tomatoes
1 large fresh basil leaf, torn

Garlic Oil

1-1/2 teaspoons (5 grams) minced garlic
1/4 cup (55 grams) extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Makes one 12 by 18-inch pizza; 12 squares

If you have turned off the oven after parbaking the dough, reheat it to 450°F for at least 1 hour.

Arrange the mozzarella slices evenly over the top of the dough, leaving a ¾-inch border on all sides. Spoon the tomato sauce onto the center of the pizza, then, using the back of the spoon in a circular motion and working outward from the center, spread the sauce evenly over the cheese.

Place the pan on the top stone and bake for 7 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees, transfer it to the bottom stone, and bake for 6 minutes, until the top is a rich golden brown. Using a wide metal spatula, lift a corner of the pizza and peek at the bottom. If you want it darker and crunchier, transfer the pan to the top stone to bake for 1 to 2 minutes. Keep a watchful eye so the cheese does not overcook.

Run the spatula around the edges of the pizza to make sure it has not stuck in any area. If you suspect a problem, drizzle a bit of olive oil down the side of the pan and work slowly to loosen in that area.

Lift the pizza onto the spatula and transfer it to a cutting board. Make 2 evenly spaced cuts the length of the pizza (to make 3 strips of equal width), then make 3 evenly spaced cuts across the width of the pizza (to make 4 strips of equal width), to make 12 squares. Finish with a dusting of pecorino and oregano and a drizzle of garlic oil.

Sicilian Tomato Sauce

Make this sauce a day ahead, or at least a few hours in advance, so the flavors come together. I like Greek oregano for what I think of as a classic East Coast flavor.

Instructions

Makes 3-3/4 cups (930 grams)

Combine the ground tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, garlic, and salt in a deep bowl or other deep container and puree with an immersion blender. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and basil.

The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days before using.

Garlic oil

Garlic oil is one of my favorite “secret ingredients” for finishing pizzas. It’s quick and easy to make, but it’s best made at least an hour in advance. The longer you leave it, the more the garlic flavor infuses into the oil, so I recommend making it a day ahead, at the same time you make your sauce.