Oyster and Smoked Scamorza Pizza

Makes 1 x 12 inch pizza

We think there are two things that shout LOVE like nothing else. The first is sharing, that simple act of kindness where you are giving something that belongs to you to another and the second is a romantic dinner for two. In culinary terms, pizza is created for sharing, making it ideal for a romantic dinner for two. Oysters have long been regarded as an aphrodisiac so we feel this recipe really create the perfect platform for a romantic meal for two.

Oyster may not be the first ingredient you think of when considering pizza toppings, but adding this really expands pizza from the usual flavours. By cooking the oyster it turns from its slimy texture that many do not like into a texture that is not too far removed from Italian sausage.

Oysters also go well with smokey flavours, in fact if you have a smoker in your kitchen arsenal we would recommend gently smoking the oysters to add a greater depth of flavour, not to worry if you don’t, though as smoked Scamorza adds a delicate smokey flavour.

To balance off the fresh salty flavour of the oysters and smokiness of the Scamorza we add a sweet hit of caramelised red onion.

Ingredients

1 Great Balls of Flour pizza dough ball or gluten free dough ball
Flour and semolina mix
75g Great Balls of Flour Pizza Tomato Sauce
60 – 70g of Smoked Scamorza slice of Italian Mortadella cut into quarters
30g caramelized red oinion
4 – 6 oysters (depending on their size)

Method

Ensure you have prepared your Great Balls of Flour pizza dough ball so it is rested and has got up to temperature. This will make it really easy to press and stretch your dough ball into the pizza base.

Fire up your pizza oven and leave it to heat up in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions or, if using your kitchen oven, set it to its maximum setting (250ºC) waiting until your stone or steel has had sufficient time to get to temperature (around 15 minutes). Remove your Great Balls of Flour Pizza Tomato Sauce from your fridge and allow it to warm for 45 minutes before building your pizza. Drain your Burrata to ensure it will not be too watery when cooked. Allow at least 30 minutes for this, but more than an hour is good.

Sprinkle your work surface with flour and semolina mix and roll your dough ball lightly covering it all over to ensure it doesn’t stick to the surface. Spread and stretch like in this video

Sprinkle your pizza peel or parchment paper with a light dusting of flour and semolina mix to stop the dough ball from sticking. Transfer to your pizza peel, or parchment paper if cooking in a conventional oven. Remember to shuffle the pizza base a couple of times throughout the building process to ensure your base doesn’t stick to the peel/parchment paper.

gLuTeN FREE

If making this pizza using a GBOF Gluten Free Dough Ball. Defrost the ball in the fridge overnight and follow the same resting period as for gluten based dough balls, ensure you keep this dough ball separate from any containing gluten. When coming to press out the ball, place between two sheets of parchment paper, dusting the paper on the bottom with Gluten Free Flour and Rice mix. To begin, gently press out the dough using your fingers until the base is around 6″ in diameter, then place the second parchment sheet on top and, using a rolling pin, roll the base out rotating to ensure an even thickness. Stop rolling once the base has reach 12″/30cm.

Cooking guide

If you’re smoking your oysters, we’d recommend doing this before you start assembling your pizza.

Start with pouring on the tomato sauce and spreading it around the base with the back of a spoon, leaving a gap around the edge of around 1 – 2cm, this will give you the perfect Neapolitan style airy crust like in the image above. Spoon over the caramelised red onion and then sprinkle over the crumb. The great benefit of using a crumb is that it ensures no one single area of the pizza becomes overloaded with cheese. Finally, place your oysters over the top. Launch the pizza into your oven and cook as per your oven’s cooking time.

Note: Cook as per the guide for your preferred pizza cooking method. Remember to rotate frequently if using an Ooni or similar style of oven or rotate after 3 minutes if using a home oven and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Check our how to video tutorials for help and guides on getting the best from cooking in your oven.