Want to learn how to cook foods from different cultures? Enjoy our new series, InterExchange Cooks!
Food is universal. Everyone eats, every culture has a unique food history, and every dish can tell a story. Today we are launching our InterExchange Cooks project, where InterExchange staff will share their favorite recipes with program participants, and participants can share food from their homelands with InterExchange staff.
How To Make Grilled Pizza
Pizza may not have been invented in the US, but it has become a quintessential part of American cuisine. InterExchange’s own Steve wanted to share his culture with grilled pizza, which was invented in his home state of Rhode Island.
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 grams (½ oz.) salt
- 283 grams (10 oz.) bread flour
- 2 grams (½ oz.) bakers’ yeast
- 187 mL warm water
- 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil
Toppings
- 10 grape tomatoes, halved
- 141 grams (5 oz.) Mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese to taste
Sauce
- 453 grams (16 oz.) crushed tomatoes
- 6 leaves of fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
- Half of a small yellow onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Salt to taste
First, thanks to Adam Kuban for this easy, delicious dough recipe. To make the dough, take your yeast and mix it in with the water. Let it sit for ten minutes or so, until it’s a bit frothy. Mix the salt in with the flour, and then add the yeast/water mixture into the flour/salt mixture. Stir it together with a wooden spoon, then once it’s starting to look like dough, knead it for a few minutes, and then let it rest for about 15 minutes. Once those 15 minutes are up, knead it again for a few minutes, and then cut the dough ball in half. Lightly coat the dough balls with olive oil, put them in separate bowls, cover the bowls with damp kitchen towels, and let them rise for 2-3 hours. You can use the dough once it has doubled in size.
To make the sauce, use a Microplane and turn the garlic and onion into a fine mince. Put a tablespoon or two of olive oil in the bottom of your pan, and cook the onion and garlic on a medium low heat until they become fragrant – usually less than five minutes. Put the rest of the ingredients in the pan, stir them up, turn the heat to low, and let the sauce simmer for 30-45 minutes. Use salt and pepper to taste.
Once your dough is ready, lightly coat the dough with olive oil again, enough so it won’t stick to a cutting board. Use a rolling pin, get the dough nice and thin, and then let it rest again for another 15 minutes.
Have your grill on high heat – 260 degrees Celsius (500 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher. Take your dough and put it on the grill – it’s helpful to have tongs here in case the dough gets caught on the grill grates at all. Let the dough cook until it bubbles on top and has some grill marks. Depending on your temperature, it could take two minutes, or it could take ten.
Flip the dough over and turn the grill heat down to low. The bottom of the pizza is now the top, and should have lovely brown grill marks. Ladle on your sauce and toppings, then close the grill lid and let the pizza cook for at least five more minutes. Once the bottom of the pizza looks like the top of your dough and the cheese is all melted, you can take it off the grill. At this point, grab the microplane again and cover your pizza with as much parmesan cheese as you want. Enjoy!
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