Pizza Capricciosa is a style of Italian pizza which is an ordinary pizza dough with a margherita sauce base which is topped with mozzeralla cheese, mushrooms, ham, artichokes and black olives. It is drizzled generously with oil before baking.
‘Capricciosa’ is the Italian word for capricious, meaning random or changeable, therefore the toppings on Pizza Capricciosa are at the whims of the person making it. The type of ham, olive and mushroom used is based on personal taste. However there is little variation between recipes.
Some variations are made with an egg cracked on to the center of the pizza. In certain regions, anchovies are added. The pizza dough may vary as well, ranging between thicker crust to thin crispy ones.
Origin & Cultural Significance
Pizza Capricciosa is a fairly recent creation, though its unclear who first created it and why. Some believe its odd toppings came from the necessity to use up leftovers, and was created in the 1903’s. Others believe it originated later in the 1950’s and was created by restaurateurs who were trying to freshen up their menus.
Italian Pizza Capriciossa
Pizza Capricciosa is a style of Italian pizza with a normal pizza dough and margherita sauce base which is topped with mozzeralla cheese, mushrooms, ham, artichokes and black olives.
Ingredients
- Pizza dough - 10 oz.
- Fresh mozzarella - 4.5 oz.
- Cremini mushrooms, sliced - 3
- Black olives (pitted and halved) - 6
- Prosciutto cotto (Italian ham) - 1.5 oz.
- Carciofini (sliced artichoke hearts in oil) - 2 oz.
- San Marzano tomatoes - 3 tbsp
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
- Salt - 1 pinch
- Oregano - 1 pinch
Instructions
- Hand crush or puree the canned tomatoes into a bowl. Drizzle in olive oil, and sprinkle in salt and oregano.
- Mix with a spoon, taste for seasoning and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Oil a 12-inch round pizza pan.
- Stretch the pizza dough starting from the center and working your way to the outside rim of the pan creating a thicker border.
- Spoon some tomato sauce on top, and in a circular motion with the back of a spoon spread the sauce to the outside edges of the dough leaving a 1 cm border.
- Place the mozzarella on top of the sauce evenly distributing it throughout, keeping some for the finish.
- Next, take the cooked ham and tear it apart scattering it throughout the pizza.
- Do the same with the artichoke hearts, sliced fresh mushrooms, and halved black olives.
- Toss on the rest of the mozzarella.
- Drizzle with olive oil and place in the hot oven on the middle rack, on top of the pizza stone.
- Halfway through the cooking process, use a spatula to take the pizza out of the pan and place it directly on the pizza stone to crisp up.
- The pizza is done when the border is golden in color and the cheese is well melted, about 15 minutes in total.
- Take out of the oven, let sit for a couple of minutes, cut and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 329Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 782mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 15g
Nutrition is provided and calculated by Nutritionix. It is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimation.