Rustic Potato Pizza

 Pizza con Patate

I adore this pizza. It is hands down my favourite pizza. Loaded with potatoes, rosemary and mozarella and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. How can you not but love it?  My mother would make this and I couldn't wait until it came out of the oven. We would immediately attack it.  It was always the first pizza gone and usually before dinner! It tastes great hot out of the oven, but also tastes amazing cold. This pizza is both rustic and delicious. Another traditional dish invented out of necessity and few ingredients. There are many variations of this pizza throughout Italy depending on the region and even the house. Even within my own family there is  a bit of a debate on which way is the best! My mother likes to add peperoncino whereas I prefer it without. All Italians like to believe that their version of whatever dish they are making is the best and will defend it relentlessly but the amazing taste and simplicity is indisputable and everyone agrees on that! The best potatoes to use in this recipe are white or yellow. If they are new potatoes then give them a good scrub and no need to peel but I do if they are older. You can use fresh or dried rosemary. Remove from stems and crush gently with a mortar and pestle to release the flavours. You can also crush in your hands as well. I use about 2 tsps of dried but that is really up to you!

Ingredients

• fresh pizza dough (see my homemade recipe in previous post) or store bought 
• 3-4 potatoes
• extra virgin olive oil
• rosemary (QB) 
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• grated mozzarella- depends how many pizzas you are making and how cheesy you want your pizza to be (QB)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Sprinkle pizza pans or cookie sheets ( I use a large rectangular cookie sheet) with corn meal
3. Flatten pizza dough on a floured wood surface and lift up to gently spread the dough apart forming a circle or rectangle.
4. Place dough on your pan and continue to gently spread the dough to cover the pan. Leave a bit of a lip at the end.
5. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil and brush over all the dough,  loosely cover with saran wrap and leave on counter for half hour.
6. Meanwhile, wash, dry and thinly slice potatoes. You can use a mandolin if you have one. Try to keep the slices the same width so they cook uniformly.
7. Place potatoes in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Start with 2 tablespoons.  Gently toss with your hand to coat all the potatoes. Add more oil only if needed. You don't want the potatoes swimming in the oil. Just enough to cover them so they don't burn in the oven.
8. Add salt and pepper to your liking and mix again.
9. Put the potatoes on the dough one slice at a time and slightly layering each one as you go along. Go right to the edge of the pizza.
10. Sprinkle with rosemary and mozzarella cheese.
11. Bake anywhere between 425 on the middle rack.
12. Check frequently as cooking time will vary. Pizza is done when crust is nice and brown on bottom and potatoes are tender.
13. You may want to turn on broil at the end if you prefer crispier cheese!
14. Pizza is ready for devouring!

A mangia!!!

Fatto con amore,

Elena💜