Three delicious variations for skillet pizza – Puttanesca, blue cheese and pancetta and goat’s cheese and salmon.
There’s always a day, every late March (sometimes, early April), that’s the tipping point between winter and spring. If we are very lucky, that day falls on a weekend. Suddenly coats are no longer required, the sky is blue and the sun is strong enough to stand up to the clouds. The parks are teeming with people literally intoxicated on sunshine, picnic hampers and barbecues are dusted off and ice cream vans follow me and the kids around (I may have only imagined that last part). The sunshine doesn’t usually last very long – sometimes the clouds and rain return the afternoon of the very same day. Quite unlike my childhood in Greece – we had practically guaranteed uninterrupted sunshine for about half the year. Summers were spent mostly outdoors – entirely outdoors in the case of my aunt who slept on the veranda.
When you can count on the sunshine you don’t really give it a second thought – I never realised how incredibly lucky I was to spend three whole months every summer on a Greek island, swimming in the sea every day, having lunch on the beach, or boat, and dinner under the stars. Although our little ‘summer home’ in Skiathos was very basic when I was a kid, it did come with a sea view and a traditional outdoor wood burning stove. Slow cooked meals were cooked in the stove, fish and meat on the (homemade, half barrel) barbecue. Although the house is far better equipped for modern living these days, the barbecues and eating al fresco tradition lives on.
We never had a similar set up at home in London however – our garden was always somewhat neglected and not equipped for outdoor dining. Which is why I am so excited this year – now that the kitchen has finally been remodelled (get a peek inside here), we have a full view of the garden through the folding doors. And, yes, it needs work. In fact we need to go back to square one and completely redesign the space. But maybe now I can finally have my dream herb corner, install that fire pit (not if my husbands has anything to do with it) or build a permanent brick barbecue at the back. Maybe by summer we will be enjoying cocktails (oh yeah) and barbecues in our backyard – watch this space.
In the meantime we may have to be content with just throwing open the doors to bring in some of the summer breeze. And we will most definitely enjoy a few skillet pizzas. What is a skillet pizza you ask? Well, the clue is in the name and it is only the most awesome thing ever. I will admit that am not great with pizza making – I hate transferring the pizza on to the the hot stone in the oven. But with skillet pizza you have no such issues – the dough is partly cooked on the stove so it becomes lovely and crisp and then transferred into the oven to finish cooking. This method guarantees a crisp base – no soggy middles here – and because you get smaller pizzas you can vary the toppings so that everyone gets their favourite with the option to share.
The three variations below – Puttanesca, blue cheese & pancetta and goat’s cheese & salmon are my favourites. Needless to say you can also use these on the normal larger pizzas but promise me you will give the skillet version a try – you are in for a real treat! The pizza dough can be made by hand, in a stand mixer or a bread machine – whatever works for you. Once your dough is ready, cut into small balls, roll them out and cook on the hot skillet until the middle starts to bubble up slightly and the edges start to crisp up. Add your toppings and then transfer to a hot oven to finish the cooking – it could not be simpler.
Three Delicious Ways with Skillet Pizza
Three delicious variations for skillet pizza – Puttanesca, blue cheese and pancetta and goat's cheese and salmon. The toppings are for single servings of individual pizzas - adjust if making larger pies.
Print RateIngredients
- For the pizza dough
- 500 g | 1lb 2oz strong white bread flour plus more to dust
- 360 ml | 12fl oz tepid water you might need less - see below
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey or sugar
- 2 tsp dried yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- cornmeal or semolina to dust the skillet with
- For the Puttanesca pizza single serving
- 2-3 tbsp passata or homemade tomato sauce
- 2-4 anchovy fillets leave out for a vegetarian version
- 4-5 mini mozzarella balls dried with kitchen towel
- cherry tomatoes on the vine or handful sliced cherry tomatoes
- handful pitted green and black pitted olives sliced
- sprinkling dried oregano
- fresh basil leaves
- olive oil to drizzle
- salt and freshly ground pepper to season
- For the blue cheese and pancetta pizza single serving
- 3 tbsp caramelised onion chutney
- 4-5 tbsp crumbled blue cheese such as Gorgonzolla
- 3-4 strips pancetta
- handfull pine nuts
- fresh rocket arugula, optional
- For the goat's cheese and salmon pizza single serving
- 4-5 tbsp goat's cheese crumbled or a mix of feta and goat's cheese
- 4-5 strips smoked salmon or to taste
- 2 tsp finely chopped red onion
- handful mini capers
- sprinkling of finely chopped fresh chives
- olive oil to drizzle
- salt and freshly ground pepper to season
Instructions
- Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and mix together.
- In a separate bowl or measuring jug, dissolve the yeast in the water then stir in the honey or sugar and olive oil.
- Gradually add the wet ingredients to the flour and mix together with a wooden spoon. You might not need to use all the water or you might need to add a touch more flour. The dough should be fairly tight – not too wet.
- Tip the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Form into a ball.
- Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and roll around so that the oil coats the dough. Cover with a plastic bag and leave to rise for 1- 1 1/2 hours or until doubled.
- When you are ready to make the pizzas, have your toppings ready by the side of the stove. Cut your dough into 6 small sections and roll one out to around 20cm/8inch (about the size of your skillet). Keep any dough you are not using covered.
- Preheat the oven as hot as it will go and set the shelf in the middle.
- Turn the stove on medium and heat the skillet. Sprinkle with a little semolina and then place the dough on the hot skillet stretching it with your fingers so that it fills the surface of the pan (beware though the skillet and its handle will be hot).
- Drizzle with a little olive oil and once the dough starts to bubble in the middle and crisp up at the edges, add your toppings.
- For the Puttanesca pizza: spread the passata or tomato sauce over the base of the pizza, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with oregano. Add the anchovies, mozzarella and olives and top with the tomatoes on the vine. Drizzle with a little olive oil and transfer to the oven. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Add a few fresh basil leaves and serve.
- For the blue cheese and pancetta pizza: spread the onion chutney over the base of the pizza and top with the crumbled blue cheese. Add the pancetta and and transfer to the oven. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted and pancetta is crisp. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and add a handful of fresh rocket (arugula) just before serving if you like.
- For the goat's cheese and salmon pizza: drizzle a little olive oil over the base of the pizza, add the goat's cheese and top with the salmon strips. Sprinkle with the onion and capers and drizzle with a little olive oil. Season and transfer to the oven. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Sprinkle with the chives and serve.
Notes
• Make the dough in a stand mixer: add the dry ingredients and mix together briefly. Add the wet ingredients and knead with a dough hook for 5-7 minutes, then proceed with step 5. • Make the dough in a bread machine: check your machine can handle the quantity of flour first. Add the water, oil, sugar or honey, flour, salt and finally yeast (make sure it is yeast suitable for bread makers). Use the dough or pizza setting and then proceed with step 6.
Tried this recipe?Mention @supergolden88 or tag #supergoldenbakes!
Emily says
Amazing Lucy! x
Gingey Bites says
Oh wow, these look absolutely stunning – my mouth is watering!! I will definitely be trying the blue cheese and pancetta recipe SOON!
Recipes From A Pantry says
I think the salmon and cheese pizza is my favourite version.
Anna says
Wow wow, It looks so great and so yummy. Pizza is always my love. I may have it delivered to me immediately.
Hannah Hossack-Lodge says
These look amazing! Pizza is my all time favourite food (I have a lot of favourite foods but pizza is definitely number one) and I make quite a lot of homemade pizza, I haven't tried a skillet one before though; they look so good that I'm going to have to invest in another skillet so I can make it as I only have mini ones xx
Lucy @ Globe Scoffers says
Wow they all look delicious! Noting better than a homemade pizza. Thanks for sharing. ��
Lynn | The Road to Honey says
As soon as I saw these lovely pizzas pop up in my Facebook feed I had to head over to your site straight away. They look absolutely divine and let me tell you that blue cheese and pancetta pizza is screaming my name.
I've never made pizza in a skillet but I can't wait to give it a try as the crust looks so crispy (just the way I like it).
Angela Field says
These pizzas look so delicious Lucy, well done. Puttanesca is one of my favourite pasta dishes, great idea to turn it into a pizza topping.