This recipe comes courtesy of Tony Gemignani — the dough-throwing pizzaiolo behind Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco and Slice House locations around the Bay Area and U.S. — who says it’s inspired by his friend and fellow Italian, Dino Cortopassi. Cortopassi was the owner of Stanislaus, a tomato processor in California, which provided many of the tomato products used in Gemignani’s restaurants. He died in 2022 at age 84.
“This pizza is my tribute to him,” he writes in the new cookbook, “The Pursuit of Pizza.”
The Cortopassi Pizza
Makes one 10-inch pizza
INGREDIENTS
One 336-gram ball Tony Gemignani’s Pizza Base Dough
Extra-virgin olive oil, such as Corto
3 14-gram slices (preferably done to order at the deli counter) whole milk mozzarella, such as Grande brand
150 grams Tony’s Pizza Sauce (see recipe below)
2 whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, sliced in half, preferably Valoroso, Alta Cucina or Bianco di Napoli
4 full basil leaves
56 grams fresh basil, chiffonade (sliced into long, thin strips)
1 ball (114 grams) burrata
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese, optional
DIRECTIONS
Remove the dough from the refrigerator 1 to 1½ hours before baking and keep covered or in the container at room temperature (65 to 68 degrees). The dough should come to room temperature before stretching and shaping, but should not be too warm. (Avoid setting the dough on any warm surfaces like the stovetop, which could parcook the dough.)
Position oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven with baking steels or stones on each. Preheat to 550 degrees (or as hot as possible for your home oven) for at least 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can use one steel or stone, set on an oven rack positioned in the center of the oven.
Dust a smooth work surface with just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, then dust the dough and a peel. Place the dough on the work surface and push and stretch it out to a 10-inch round and slide onto the peel.
Brush the dough with olive oil. Arrange the mozzarella slices all around, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border from the dough’s inner edge. Using a ladle or spoon, add the sauce on top of the cheese.
Before you start cooking, put your oven on broil or convection bake. Slide the pizza onto the top steel and bake until you get micro-blistering with a mixed golden brown and/or charred crust, 3 to 4 minutes. Lift the pizza with the peel, rotate it 180 degrees and transfer to the bottom steel. Bake until the bottom crust is a rich golden brown, and the cheese is bubbling with some browning in spots, 5 to 7 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on the temperature of the oven.
Alternatively, if baking on one steel or stone, bake for 8 to 11 minutes, rotating the pizza 180 degrees once during the baking.
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Transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Place the four tomato halves and 4 basil leaves on the pizza. Add the chiffonade of basil in the middle and place the burrata over it. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Pecorino Romano, if using.
For best results, the pizza should be cut with shears. Cutting with a rolling cutter or a rocker knife will crush and decompress the cornicione (the puffy crust edge). Using the tips of the shears, poke a hole and then snip the top of the crust. Make a second cut from the side and then continue to cut to the center of the pizza. Repeat the snipping and cutting to make slices.
San Marzano tomatoes are key to a really good tomato sauce — or great pizza. (Getty Images)
Tony’s Pizza Sauce
Makes 150 grams (generous ½ cup)
INGREDIENTS
84 grams pureed tomatoes, such as Stanislaus 7/11 or Cento
28 grams Saporito or Super Dolce super heavy pizza sauce or Contadina tomato paste
2 whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, sliced in half
Generous pinch of fine sea salt
Pinch of oregano
Pinch of onion powder
DIRECTIONS: Put all the ingredients into a bowl and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. The sauce can be made a day in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.
— Courtesy Tony Gemignani, “The Pursuit of Pizza: Recipes from the World Pizza Champions,” (From $1.99 e-edition, Windermere Press).