“The Marco” Pizza with Pistachio Cream, Mozzarella, Pecorino and Prosciutto Crudo

In the humble opinion of Simon Towers — Powered by Ooni member and the owner and chef behind Il Pirata Pizzata (@ilpiratapizzata) in Saltaire, England — pistachios are up there among the most versatile ingredients. We have to agree. They go well in both sweet and savoury dishes, which happens to work out winningly on a pizza with a base of pistachio cream topped with fior di latte mozzarella and pecorino, and garnished post-cook with prosciutto crudo, crushed pistachios and lemon zest.

The inspiration behind Simon’s dish stems from award-winning London-based chef Marco Fuso’s pizza master class, where he first tried pizza pistachio with mortadella, a classic Italian combo. As an Englander, Simon didn’t care much for the mortadella, which reminded him too much of British supermarket ham, so he decided to put his own twist on the dish by swapping out the mortadella for the traditionally uncooked, aged and salt-cured prosciutto crudo. For a little extra zing, Simon added lemon zest to cut through the sharp saltiness of the pecorino.

And since the veteran pizza chef introduced Simon to the flavours in the first place (and Il Pirata Pizzata is named after his childhood hero, cyclist Marco Pantani), he thought it only fitting to christen this pie “The Marco,” after two Italian greats.

Difficulty

Servings

Makes six 250-gram or 30-centimetre pizzas

Prep Time

20 minutes

(not including dough prep time)
Cook Time

1 to 2 minutes

“The Marco” Pizza with Pistachio Cream, Mozzarella, Pecorino and Prosciutto Crudo

Note

If you don’t have time to make the pistachio cream by hand, there are plenty of ready-made products that can be found in Italian specialty stores and online (we like Vincente Sicilian Cream of Pistachio Nut Spread). For the dough, we recommend our Classic Pizza Dough (just be sure to set aside 3 to 4 hours for proofing). If you make more than you need, the best time to freeze extra homemade pizza dough is after the first rise, when it has doubled in size. Just divide the leftovers into equal-sized dough balls, drizzle a light layer of olive oil into separate, lidded containers to prevent the dough from sticking, place the balls inside and set in the freezer. You can freeze your dough balls there for up to 3 months.

Hand holding a small finger bowl over an uncooked pizza with pistachio cream and pecorino on a table surrounded by bowls of mozzarella, prosciutto crudo, lemon zest and pistachio cream. One hand placing prosciutto crudo on a cooked pizza with pistachio cream, mozzarella, pecorino, prosciutto and crushed pistachios on an Ooni Bamboo Pizza Peel and Serving Board.

Simon Towers

Simon Towers is the owner and pizza chef behind Il Pirata Pizzata (@ilpiratapizzata) in Saltaire, England. A finalist in the PAPA U.K. Pizza Chef of the Year Awards, Powered By Ooni member, and Petra Flour partner, Simon makes pizzas in a contemporary Neapolitan style with a wide array of bold and interesting toppings.