Mortadella and Pistachio Pizza – Vindulge

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This Mortadella Pizza recipe starts with a garlic oil base and is then layered with rich fresh mozzarella, mortadella, and crunchy roasted pistachios for one of the most flavorful and decadent pizzas you have ever eaten.

When it comes to creative pizza recipes sometimes you just want to step outside the box. Adding fun meats like mortadella can add a fun texture and flavor, and is a great alternative to some of the more powerful meats like pepperoni or soppressata.

Ingredients for Mortadella Pizza

• Dough – A great pizza starts with great dough. Use our Neapolitan Style Pizza Dough, especially if you are using a dedicated pizza oven. Or you can use a store-bought dough.
• Garlic Oil – Combine freshly grated garlic and extra virgin olive oil for the sauce base.
• Fresh Mozzarella – We recommend fresh mozzarella for the richer flavor vs low-moisture (pre-shredded) version. If all you have is pre-shredded that will work too.
• Mortadella – This is the star of this Mortadella pizza recipe. Pockets of delicate fat, pistachios, and a buttery flavor all make this the perfect meat. You can even add more flavor by starting with our Smoked Mortadella.
• Roasted Pistachios – This is a nice addition because it complements the flavors already in the mortadella. You can buy pre-roasted pistachios at almost any grocery store.
• Fresh Thyme – Fresh thyme adds a floral and aromatic flavor that really finishes the pizza.
• Optional – We like to finish all of our pizza recipes with a small bit of finishing salt like Maldon.

A few key tools are very important when making any pizza. Here are some of our favorites. For a complete list check out our complete guide for pizza tools.

• Good Pizza Stone – If you are using your kitchen oven (and not a dedicated pizza oven), you need this to retain that thermal heat for the crust texture. 13 inches is a good size for the average kitchen oven. Be sure to measure the depth of your oven before buying so it will fit with the door closed.
• Wooden Pizza Peel – Wood is superior to metal because it stays cool. A warm pizza peel makes it more difficult for the pizza to slide off.
• Good IR Thermometer – You need to know the temperature of the stone and this is the only tool that will do it accurately.

Optional – A turning pizza peel is a great addition as it’s smaller and easier to turn the pizzas in a dedicated pizza oven. We strongly recommend it.

Preparation

Make sure the dough is at room temperature so it is easy to work with. Also be sure your pizza stone is at the desired temperature based on how you are cooking it. A good Neapolitan-style pizza starts with having the right heat on the stone for that crispy exterior and chewy bite.

Outdoor Pizza Oven – See below if using your kitchen oven and a pizza stone.

Pizza Preparation

1. Pre-warm the pizza oven so the pizza stone is 700 degrees Fahrenheit measured using a good instant-read IR thermometer. If using a standard kitchen oven make sure it’s at 500 degrees F.
2. Lightly flour a wooden pizza peel.
3. Place the dough ball on the center of the pizza peel. With your fingers, gently press the dough in the center and slowly press and work your way outward to stretch the dough into an 11 or 12-inch width. Use your fingers to then pinch around the edge so you have a slightly larger edge than the center. We do not recommend using a rolling pin as that will cause the air pockets (that make a great texture and airiness) to break.
4. Gently slap the center of the dough, this removes excess bubbles. DO NOT USE A FORK to press out bubbles on this style of pizza.
5. Lift the edges of the dough and dust with more flour so it’s easy to slide off the peel.
6. Add the ingredients and prepare to cook.

How To Make Mortadella Pizza

We recommend this method for any pizza oven in the style of Roccbox, Solo Pi, Ooni, or the Gozney Dome.

Total cooking time (excluding preheat): less than 90 seconds

1. With the dough rolled out and still on the pizza peel, add the garlic oil with a silicone brush. You want a light coating. See recipe card for details.
2. Add the mozzarella and then mortadella. When placing the mortadella we like to take the entire slice and pinch it so it’s fanned across the pizza.
3. Place the pizza in the pizza oven with the stone at 700 degrees. Using a small pizza peel, slowly rotate the pizza every 15 seconds or so to allow for an even cook. After the pizza has rotated fully, the edges should have raised, and the cheese should be slightly bubbling. You can lift the pizza and see if the bottom of the crust has the right leopard-style spots.
4. Remove the pizza, and then top with crushed pistachios, fresh thyme, and then some finishing salt. Slice and serve.

You can also use our method for pizza on a Big Green Egg if you have a Kamado Grill.

Modification for Indoor Oven

If you do not have a pizza oven that can get a stone to 700 degrees, the next best option is to use your oven and a pizza stone. This method is inspired by Ken Forkish, a legend in wood-fired pizzas for creating the closest thing to a Neapolitan Style Pizza in your home oven.

Total cooking time (excluding the preheat): 8 minutes

1. Position your pizza stone to the third slot from the broiler (6-8 inches from the broiler). Preheat your oven and pizza stone to 550 degrees F for 30 minutes.
2. Then put the broiler on high for 10 minutes. This adds more heat to get the pizza stone to 600 degrees F. You don’t want the stone on the top slot as the amount of heat may crack the stone.
3. After 10 minutes, turn off the broil and adjust the heat back to 550 degrees F and then place the pizza directly on the stone. Cook for two minutes, and then rotate the pizza 180 degrees using a turning pizza peel or tongs.
4. Let cook an additional 4 minutes and then turn the broiler on high. Cook an additional 2 minutes under the broiler or until you see the mozzarella melted and the base of the dough cooked.
5. Remove, add finishing salt and then serve.

What To Serve With Mortadella Pizza

Wine: Unlike more common meats to put on a pizza, Mortadella is rich and delicate in flavor. Combined with the garlic oil, this is a richer style of pizza that is begging for something bright and refreshing. Sparkling wine is fantastic with this combination, as is a crisp rosé. If you’re determined to go with a red wine, stick with something bright and fruity with lower alcohol. Chianti (made from Sangiovese grapes) is a good match.

Sides: Anytime we make pizzas we make sure we have our Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad. If you don’t want to grill the romaine you can just use fresh romaine and the awesome dressing from the recipe.

Other Pizza Recipe Inspirations

You can explore all of our pizza recipes or choose from some of our favorites.

Now on 2nd edition

Fire + Wine Cookbook

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“This book is a one-stop guide for anyone truly interested in elevating their BBQ experience into a culinary work of art.”
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San Francisco Book Review

About Vindulge

Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.