I got the second dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine last Friday morning and everything was fine and dandy for the following 12 hours. Then the side effects kicked in: chills, fatigue, headache, muscle pain. And “COVID arm” returned.
When I woke up on Saturday, I tried to go about my routine … but all I wanted to do was lay down and rest. Even my appetite was suppressed.
Thankfully, I bounced back Sunday and had enough energy to throw together a mortadella and pistachio pizza. The inspiration came from a menu item at Il Casaro Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar.
While I prefer red over white pies, this is an exception. The combination of cold charcuterie, nutty “pesto” and gooey cheese is amazing. If you don’t believe me, try the recipe! Serve mortadella and pistachio pizza with a lemon parmesan kale salad for a light but satisfying meal.
Recipe adapted from Saveur.
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon active dry yeast
- ½ cup cold water
- 1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons 00 flour
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons toasted pistachios
- 1 teaspoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for finish
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2¼ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- kosher salt, to taste
- 4 ounces ciliegine (small mozzarella balls), halved
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 ounce thinly sliced mortadella
- 4-5 fresh basil leaves
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, olive oil, yeast and water. Whisk together until thoroughly combined and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Add the flour and salt to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Then knead the dough by hand (or with a dough hook attachment) until it's smooth and elastic - this will take about 10 minutes (or less if using a stand mixer). Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Transfer dough to the refrigerator to chill for 48 hours. When ready to use, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature, covered with a damp cloth, for 2-3 hours before shaping.
- Adjust oven rack to the second-highest position and place Baking Steel on rack. Preheat oven to 500 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. (See notes)
- In a food processor, pulse the pistachios, half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, olive oil, water, lemon juice and a pinch of salt until finely ground. Set aside.
- Stretch out dough to a 10" circle and place on a floured pizza peel (or inverted baking sheet). If the dough is resisting, let it sit for about 5 minutes.
- Spread the prepared pistachio "pesto" over the dough in an even layer all the way to the edges.
- Top with ciliegine and Pecorino Romano cheese. Brush edge of the dough with olive oil.
- Slide the pizza onto the Baking Steel and bake for 7-8 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is melted. Broil for 1-2 minutes to brown top, if desired.
- Remove from the oven and top with mortadella, basil and remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Drizzle with olive oil.
