Homemade Pizza with Potatoes, Thyme and Rosemary
There are many foods I love to eat but up there at the top of my “favorite dishes” list remains one simple, yet delectable, staple: pizza! Surpassed only by my Mom’s lasagna, pizza is a comfort food that transports me back to my childhood. I remember those weekend nights when my Dad would rent a movie and order a pizza, then we’d all spend some quality time together enjoying a funny film while chowing down on cheesy goodness (with a side of jalapeno poppers). Now that I live some 3,000 miles away from home we don’t often get the opportunity to share a meal, or a movie, but my love for pizza remains. There is a slight difference, however: greasy Dominos or Pizza Hut creations just don’t do it for me anymore. Why? Because ever since I learned how to make my own pizza, ever since I sampled the crunchy-on-the-outside fluffy-on-the-inside goodness of a homemade crust, I haven’t been happy with anything else. Why order when you can bake? Not only do you have the sweet satisfaction of eating something you made yourself, but you’ll never have to worry about the toppings being messed up again. Want mushrooms on one side and onions on the other? No problem. Extra cheese? Simple. Add as many toppings as you like – heck arrange them in a feng shui pattern if you want! – there are no limits to what you can do. Awesome? I think so.
Homemade Pizza with Potatoes, Rosemary, Thyme and Mozzarella
Pizza is one of those dishes that goes way, way back in culinary history. The Greeks, who dominated the southernmost regions of Italy from about 730 BCE to 130 BCE, were accomplished bakers and ate flat, round breads topped with oils, onions, garlic, herbs, vegetables and cheese. They called it plankuntos and left a thin rim of plain crust along the edges, just like we do. Some food historians claim that this dish was based on a Persian meal described by Herodotus, a Greek historian frequently called “the father of history.” He wrote about a recipe similar to modern day pizza dough that was made by Persian bakers, and it is believed that on long marches the soldiers of Darius the Great (549 BCE 486 BCE) would bake a kind of flat bread on their shields, then top it with cheese and dates. Another ancient pizza parallel can be found in the Apicius, which records a recipe for flat bread covered with meat, pine kernels, cheese, garlic, pepper and oil along with instructions for cooling it in snow before serving. We also find evidence for the existence of an early form of pizza in the ruins of Pompeii, a Roman city near modern Naples, Italy, that was destroyed and completely buried in volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 70 CE. When archaeologists began excavating the ruins they discovered shops that resembled conventional pizzerias along with marble slabs (for cooking) and other tools typically associated with baking pizza.
If you noticed the absence of tomatoes in any of the aforementioned ‘recipes,’ that’s because they originated in the New World, and hence, were unknown. It wasn’t until the Spanish conquered America and brought tomatoes back to Spain that they became a part of the European diet, and eventually found their way onto pizza. (Although for years Europeans thought tomatoes were poisonous and used the plant as decoration only.) The transition from inedible to pizza staple occurred when, faced with starvation, Neapolitan peasants took a chance and added tomatoes and cheese to their yeasted doughs, creating the first simple pizza as we know it. In 1889 King Umberto I and his wife, Queen Margherita di Savoia were on holiday in Naples when they decided to call the most popular pizza chef (pizzaioli) to their home so they could sample his specialties. He made three kinds of pizzas: one with lard, cheese and basil; one with garlic, oil and tomatoes; and another with mozzarella, basil and tomatoes (the colors of the Italian flag). Queen Margherita liked the last one so much that baker dedicated it to her and the “Pizza Margherita” was born.
There is much more to be said about pizza (like the interesting fact that 19th century street vendors, typically young boys, walked around the city with small tin stoves on their heads; hence making piping-hot, fresh pizza available to anyone, anywhere) but I think that’s enough for now!
Homemade Pizza with Potatoes, Rosemary, Thyme and Mozzarella
Pizza Dough
Bakeware: Pizza stone, pizza peel
Ingredients:
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- A pinch of sugar
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Cornmeal, for sprinkling
Pour the warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast, sugar and 1 tablespoon of the flour over the surface of the water. Stir until dissolved and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, place 2 tablespoons of the oil, salt, 1 cup of flour, and the yeast mixture. Whisk hard until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until a soft, sticky dough that just clear the sides of the bowl is formed.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and vigorously knead to form a springy ball, dusting with flour only 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to prevent sticking, about 3 minutes. The dough should be quite soft, smooth, and very springy.
Form the dough into a flattened ball and place in a greased deep container. (Grease it with about 1 tsp of olive oil.) Turn once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until tripled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
About 30 minutes before baking, place your pizza stone in the cold oven on the lowest rack. Preheat to 500 degrees F.
Flatten the dough into a disk. On a very lightly floured surface, roll the dough from the center out, rotating as you go. Lift the dough edges and gently flap them to relax them as you work. Place the round of dough directly onto a cornmeal sprinkled baker’s peel. (Use a generous amount of cornmeal so that the dough doesn’t stick.)
Immediately after shaping, brush with sauce (see below) and assemble the toppings on the dough. Open the oven and dust the pizza stone with cornmeal. Slide the pizza directly onto the stone and bake until the dough is crisp, the topping is hot, and the cheese is melted, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven using the bakers peel (use it like a spatula), transfer to a cutting board and cut pizza into wedges with a pizza wheel or serrated knife. Enjoy!
Pizza Toppings
As your sauce base you can simply use your favorite pasta sauce. We love “America’s Choice Italian Style Marinara.”
From “Jamie’s Italy” :
Spicy salami, zucchini, basil, tomato and mozzarella
Ingredients:
- 4 tbs tomato sauce
- 6 thin slices of firm zucchini
- 8 fresh basil leaves
- 10 thin slices of spicy salami
- 3 oz. mozzarella
- olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Smear your tomato sauce evenly over the pizza base. Lay on your zucchini and basil, then your salami – you want this to go on last so it goes crispy. Place small torn up pieces of mozzarella into the gaps, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp and golden.
Potatoes, mozzarella, rosemary, thyme and tomatoes (The one I made)
Ingredients:
* items marked have been modified or added
- 6 tbs tomato sauce
- * 2 cooked new potatoes
- * dry, crushed rosemary leaves
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- extra virgin olive oil
- lemon juice
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- * 4 oz mozzarella
* Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling. Peel your potatoes, add to the water and cook until a knife passes through them easily, about 15 – 20 minutes for medium to large potatoes. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain and allow to cool.
Smear the tomato sauce evenly over the pizza base. Slice the potatoes into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick slices and toss in a bowl with the rosemary, thyme, a good glug of olive oil, a small squeeze of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Scatter them over the pizza base and put small torn up pieces of mozzarella into the caps, then scatter randomly over the top. Cook until crisp and golden.
Smoked pancetta, mozzarella, fresh chili, and tomatoes
Ingredients:
- 6 tbs tomato sauce
- 3 oz mozzarella
- 1 fresh red chili, finely sliced
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 5 slices of smoked pancetta, thinly sliced
- olive oil
Smear the tomato sauce evenly over the pizza base. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and dob these over, then scatter over as much chili as you like and season with salt and pepper. Lay the pancetta over the top so it will crisp up during cooking and the juices will cook into the pizza. Drizzle with olive oil and cook until crisp and golden.
Other topping ideas: From “The Bread Bible”
- Oils: Extra virgin, virgin, pure olive oil, walnut oil
- Tomatoes: Fresh or canned Italian, sun dried tomatoes
- Cheese: Shredded low-moisture mozzarella (buffalo milk, cow’s milk, smoked); fontina; provolone; soft Jack; grated Pecorino Romano; Parmesan; ricotta; crumbled fresh goat cheese
- Olives
- Peppers: Roasted or sauteed green, yellow or red bell peppers; dried or fresh chilies.
- Meats: Cooked sweet or hot sausage, pancetta, or bacon; salami, pepperoni, or prosciutto
- Onions and Herbs: Sauteed onions, shallots or garlic; raw chives or green onions; fresh and dried herbs
- Others: Anchovies and cooked shrimp; capers; cooked vegetables such as spinach, eggplant, artichokes, and mushrooms.
Tips for great pizza
- Coat the dough with a layer of sauce or oil before assembling
- Limit yourself to three to five topping ingredients
- Distribute the topping ingredients evenly, so that every bite will contain all flavors
Pizza topping recipes from: Jamie’s Italy by Jamie Oliver. The pizza dough recipe is from The Bread Bible, by Beth Hensperger.
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38 Responses to “Homemade Pizza with Potatoes, Thyme and Rosemary”
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This pizza looks great! I have to admit though that I don’t get the whole “potato” on pizza thing. I just can’t get used to it. I’ll make it tonight w/out the potatoes and let you know.
Thanks for sharing. Glad you are back!
Ha, I wasn’t sure about potatoes on pizza either, yet it was surprisingly good. I probably still prefer traditional pizza toppings, but will also be making this one again.
Great review Ari, I agree with you about Jamie Oliver. He’s recipes are often delicious but sometimes they don’t quite turn out. I tried making this olive bread I saw on his show once and it was horrible, then I tried one of his baked fish recipes and it was great. I guess it’s hit and miss and you have to use your own judgement and knowledge when cooking (which is probably good advice in general!)
Yum – I will eat anything with Rosemary! Pizza and Rosemary sounds so perfect! Really interesting combination.
I think it’s really cool to be able to make your own pizza!
Paz
An incredibley thorough review, Ari! To be honest, I agree with pretty much everything you’ve written about the book.
And of course I agree with you about the comforting nature of pizza. Your pizza is amazing! My mouth is watering!
You have inspired me to make homemade Pizza, but first I have to buy a few kitchen tools to get it just right. Your pizza looks fantastic! I found the historical information really interesting and feel confident about now having some unique information for the next party I attend. I don’t think too many people actually know how pizza really started. .
The comment about the potatoes absorbing enzymes in the food, reminded me of when I was first learning to cook a pot of beans. My abuelita told me that if I ever added too much salt, to just add a raw potato to the pot and it would soak up the excess salt as the beans continued to cook.. I haven’t ever tried it…but it sounds reasonable.
Thank you for sharing a great post.
Thanks so much for reviewing this book. I’ve only tried one recipe, so haven’t really assessed the book as a whole. I must say that your pizza looks absolutely delicious!
Hi Ari,
My brother is a pizzatarian and can eat pizza for every meal for the rest of his life and he would be so happy. He and I travelled through Italy together for a month and I dragged him into so many nice restaurants and he was very patient with me, but from time to time we still had to get a slice. While I like pizza I figure you can get pizza everyplace on the planet and probably also on vending machines on the moon, so when I have a chance to travel, pizza isn’t on the top of my list. But homemade is great! I have a few rules about what should not be on pizza and that includes tuna and broccoli, I also would have thought potatoes but I have to say, your photograph of the brown and cheesey potato on the pizza looked great!
Excellent review! Thank you so much. Very clever of you to work out the dough problem. I see recipes with a 15 minute dough resting time but not 15 minute rising times. I see many recipes for potato pizza. I’m really a potato freak and keep meaning to try it.
That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a potato having any influence on the gassy bean nature – I’ll have to look out for that one some place else.
I also am enjoying the Breakfasts and Brunches, by The Culinary Institute of America.
The puff pastry book looks interesting.
You might also find Peter Reinhart’s American Pie: My search for the perfect pizza good. The first part is almost story telling in relating his search and the second is recipes. Recipes are time consuming but not labor intensive.
Hi there,
. and i find osm nay nice recies arund here. Such a lovely blog.
)
this is my first visit to your food postings
Nice pictures too .
thanks for sharing Pizza recipe . I love pizza in any form
will keep coming for more.
-Pooja
I have this book as well as it was gifted to me, but after a few reads through it’s been shelved as though some of the ideas are great, I don’t think I’d trust any of the recipes in it to thrill me. Glad your pizza turned out well in the end
A few months ago I had a vegetarian friend over for dinner. Completely freaking out over what to have for dinner that she would enjoy, I decided on pizza. Easily vegetarian, easily meat lovers. I went the homemade route because it made for a fun evening with my friends building their own pizzas. The pizza stone and peel are a must tho! The evening’s conclusion: We must do this again!
Your pizza looks fabulous, Ari. I had never eaten white pizza until a trip to Italy — yummy. I think it was potato, onion and cheese. I was hooked!
I made pizza last night and will be posting about it soon. I have to try your potato and rosemary pizza sometime, it looks inspired.
I love my Dad’s homemade pizza. We’re constantly trying new toppings and mixing up the recipe, but it’s always sooo much better than anything you could order.
thanks for the review. i love pizza and putting potatos on top may be the only way i know of to make this comfort food even more comforting! weird that he kinda skips some of the instructions though…
Wow… that looks amazing!
When I was in Italy my favorite pizza was marinara. (I was avoiding cheese, long story), and it was wonderful. I cannot find anything in the U.S. to rival what I had there. I dream about going back to this little cafe in Florence …
(As for the cats – the vet suggested we also get Atticus’ teeth cleaned, but I just don’t know if it’s in the budget. I mean, is it really necessary? I have no clue how much it might cost, but I imagine it’s way up there.)
wonderful review Ari. You have me craving pizza. That;s the way I like it, plain simple cheese pizza.
I would never have thought to put potatoes on pizza but your photos make it sound like a very good idea! YUME.
Great review and I pretty much agree with you on all your points – I have most of his cookbooks, have eaten in his restaurant, have his autographed menu on my wall – He does very much imagine you know what you are doing in a lot of his recipes – however that’s the beauty of cooking I feel it’s ok to swap things round and get things to your tatse and I am always adapting his recipes to make something of my own – I feel that it’s the inspiration that counts and this book is there to offer that…..
I usually make my own pizzas too –
has the tv show of this book been screened in the states yet? It’s good viewing…..watch if you can
xx
ps – forgot to mention that sometimes pizza is made with a potato base…..
it’s delicious but not what i would really call PIZZA!
xx
WE love Jamie Oliver’s recipes here at Willow House, they are so simple to make and so tasty, dare I say they are foolproof?
I agree with what you said about Jamie O’s new book, having purchased it myself and had the same problems. I still love him though! As I imagine you do too.
Ari,
What a delicious pizza! I’ve never had pizza with potatoes, I’m curious about it.
I love your book reviews – they’re great guidelines. Very important, since books are so expensive sometimes.
I get mad too when instructions are not clear enough.
Just for the record, when I make pizza dough I make it like your mom: 1 1/2 hours for the pizzas to get crunchy and tasty.
The fifteen minute rise can seem weird, but I use a similar recipe with a 15 minute rise for pizza dough and after many, many trials of other recipes, this is the one we’ve stuck with. I don’t use a terribly hot oven – 200 – 210C, and I bake the pizzas for a maximum of 15 minutes. I also use a processor to knead the dough and I use enough water and oil that the dough comes out slightly sticky, but silky.
I think that it depends what kind of pizza base you’re after. This produces a thin, crunchy crust, whereas others I’ve tried make a thicker crust. Try it at the slightly lower temperature for less time and see what happens. Mine gets these wonderful bubbles in it – very tasty!
Great post! I’d love to try potatos on a pizza one time. Also, thanks for the review of the book. I’ve been thinking about buying this one for a while, maybe now I will.
Potato in pizza- great idea. It looks delicious. I liked reading your review and the pizza history. I’ve been thinking of making pizza at home, maybe I’ll try your combination.
Your pizza looks fabulous!
I love pizza, but never eat this dish with potatoes. Very interesting, though…
Thanks for such a thorough review! I always appreciate it when someone takes the time to put such a great review down…it really helps especially as cookbooks can get pretty pricey nowadays…
Have you seen or heard anything on his latest one?
I have been meaning to make my own pizza…I’ve been able to gather some pretty good recipes already…will keep this one in mind too
I remember the first time I tried a pizza with potatoes on it…at first I thought it was strange, until I tasted it! YUM!
I love starch on starch things 
Joey, I’ve heard mostly good things about this book, the only criticisms have been along the lines of what I said in the post.
Being a foodie yourself, you’ll probably get a kick out of it – why not check the book out of the library and give it a try before deciding whether to buy it? (I often try out new cookbooks that way!)
ps. Joey, I love your “starch on starch things” comment! It is yummy. :yum :
Oh man…I wish that my lunch today!
You said it best – “Why order when you can bake?” The versatility, flexability, eatability…
This pizza looks fabulous! I hadn’t considered putting potatoes on pizza before, but it sounds like a winning combination!
My boyfriend and I have recently gotten into making our own pizza – probably because he bought me a pizza stone for Christmas, and I decided to ahead and like it (http://rebalala.blogspot.com/2007/01/on-not-being-lopsided.html). We also made a fantastic sourdough pizza that took not very long at all to rise – I think I prefer it to the regular crust, but it does require a sourdough starter – http://www.recipezaar.com/98733.
And Jamie Oliver is rather fun – I saw him on tv when I was in England, and it was funny watching him cook with his daughter in the kitchen. They just jumped on the counters and ran around, and he kept on cooking…that man has good concentration!
I’ve only made pizza crust once, and i was scared the whole time the dough was rising!
Gotta love Jamie Oliver! I love his books and will definitely have to try this one.