COOKING LIVE: Papa’s Pizza

The pizza life chose me!! My parents joined me LIVE in my crazy kitchen & it was pretty much the best thing ever. My dad made us world famous pizza & stole the show!

I learned it all from my dad & he’s sharing his tried & true recipe! It wasn’t easy to get exact measurements from him but I did it!! I hope you love it as much as we do!

Papa’s Pizza

INGREDIENTS

For the sauce:

• 1 28oz can whole plum San Marzano tomatoes ( look for serial number to ensure it’s the real deal)

•. 3 oz tomato purée

• 1 teaspoons dried oregano

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

For the Pizza:

• 1 16 oz store bought pizza dough ball

• 6 ounces shredded mozzarella

• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

• Stick of Pepperoni (skin on, found in deli area ask them to cut thin)

INSTRUCTIONS

Dough should be covered, resting at room temp until pillow soft. You’ll have to plan ahead! Heat the oven to 475. Lightly oil your pan with a small amount of Olive Oil or Crisco. If you don’t have a round pizza pan you can use a cookie sheet.

Start your sauce. Use just the tomatoes from the can and blend in your pan with an emulsion blender or potato masher. Add the dry ingredients to your sauce. Add tomato paste and simmer on stove until thick.

Our round pans are 12 inches so we don’t use the whole 16 oz dough ball. (Rule of thumb – take the diameter of your pan & add 2. So for my 12 in pan we’re using 14 oz dough . Math! Ugh. But, you get the picture! )

Dust your dough ball with a generous about of flour. Gently stretch the dough to edges of the pan. Dough can be very temperamental! Careful not to overwork it. This could take some time— be patient. It’s worth it. It should be thin but not thin enough that it’s tearing.

Spread sauce over the pizza, leaving a little border around the edges. Arrange mozzarella cheese over top, cover with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano & add the pepperoni. Use the kind from the deli that I mentioned above so it will “cup and char” (a term my dad loves).

Bake on 475 until it’s done! Haha. Depends on your over but anywhere from 15 to 2O minutes, until the crust is golden brown and crisp.

Slide the pizzas onto a pizza peel or cutting board to cool. Slice and MANGIA!!!