White Pizza with Ricotta, Mozzarella, and Basil
Make this gooey white pizza with ricotta, fresh mozzarella, basil, and chili oil for a fun and delicious date night at home.
Equipment
- Cast iron griddle 10-inch
Ingredients
- 286 grams Neapolitan style pizza dough 70% hydration
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 5 ounces fresh mozzarella sliced
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 6 leaves fresh basil chopped
- 1 to 2 teaspoons chili oil
- Flour for dusting
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven as high as it can go - around 500 or 550 degrees F.
- Next, lightly flour a clean work surface and lay out the dough. Shape the dough into a roughly 10-inch circle. Start by flattening it into a disc and gently pressing around the edges to form a small crust, then use two hands underneath the dough to stretch it from the center outwards. Gently coax it into the shape of your pan.
- Once the oven is hot, switch it to the broiler setting. Then, preheat a 10-inch cast iron pan on the stove over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, until it’s super hot.While the pan preheats, make sure all your toppings are ready and place them within reach of the stove.
- Once the pan is very hot, assemble the pizza. Gently place the dough on the pan and then turn the stove off. Spread the olive oil onto the dough in an even layer, leaving about a quarter-inch around the edges for the crust. Then, top evenly with the minced garlic.Lay down the slices of fresh mozzarella, then dollop the ricotta into the empty spaces in between the mozzarella slices. Finally, top with fresh basil.
- Transfer the pizza to the oven and cook under the broiler for about 4 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the crust is golden and the cheese is gooey.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and carefully transfer it to a cooling rack. Cool for at least 2 minutes before transferring to a cutting board.
- Finally, drizzle the pizza with chili oil. Slice and serve hot.
Notes
Neapolitan style pizza dough: We highly recommend making your own Neapolitan style dough from scratch for this recipe! You’ll have to prep the dough one to two days in advance, but it’s so worth it. We like to use Marc Vetri’s recipe for Neapolitan dough at 70% hydration from his Mastering Pizza cookbook, but any Neapolitan dough recipe will do. Just make sure to let the dough rest at room temperature for about an hour before baking (if it's refrigerated) so that you can easily shape it.
Cast iron pan: The best kind of cast iron pan for making pizza with this method is a flat, griddle-like pan with no real edges, like this one. This will make it way easier to get the pizza on and off the pan.
Baking method: We like to use Marc Vetri's method for home oven Neapolitan style pizza from his Mastering Pizza cookbook, which you can buy here. He goes into more detail in the book about why this method works so well, and what other methods you can try for baking this kind of pizza at home!
Tips for slicing pizza: The best way to slice a pizza without messing up the cheese is to use a sharp pair of pizza scissors! We love our Scizza from Dreamfarm because it has a padded edge, so you can cut your pizza right in the pan or on a cooling rack. If you don't have pizza scissors, the next best option is to use a large, sharp chef's knife and use a rocking motion (instead of dragging) to cut through the crust.
Serving suggestions: This spicy white pizza makes a great date night dinner for two, paired with a side salad or a light appetizer. We also love to make two different kinds of Neapolitan style pizzas when we're feeling ambitious, since they're on the smaller side. Pair this white pizza with our spinach and artichoke pizza or prosciutto and goat cheese pizza for a fun pizza-making date night in!
Nutrition
Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 502mg | Potassium: 32mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 232IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 143mg | Iron: 1mg
