White Clam Sauce Pizza
User Reviews
4.9
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Total Time
2 hrs
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Servings
4
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
American
White Clam Sauce Pizza
Description
This White Clam Sauce Pizza recipe includes preparing a yeast dough from warm water, active dry yeast, honey, olive oil, flour, and salt. Once risen and shaped, the dough is topped with a clam sauce made by sautéing onions, garlic, and clams in olive oil and butter, deglazed with dry white wine. Heavy cream is added to create a smooth, rich sauce which is finished with Parmesan and provolone cheeses melted in. Chili oil made from olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes can be drizzled over the pizza for heat.
The pizza brings together briny clams with creamy, cheesy sauce on a tender, lightly chewy dough base. The warm, fragrant seafood and garlic flavors balance with slight heat from chili oil if used. Cooking at 425°F ensures a crisp crust edge while keeping the interior soft.
Serve this pizza as a main dish for dinner or a special occasion. It pairs well with a light salad or crisp white wine. The fresh clams and creamy sauce make it a seafood-forward alternative to classic tomato-based pizzas.
Allow the dough sufficient rising time for best texture. Scrubbing the clams well is important to remove grit. This recipe yields enough dough for a large pizza suitable to feed 3-4 people. The chili oil can be adjusted based on spice preference.
Ingredients
dough
- 1 1/8 cups water warm
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
clam sauce
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 1/2 sweet onion diced
- 4 garlic minced, cloves
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1 1/4 cups white wine like chardonnay, dry
- 5 pounds littleneck clam scrubbed well, fresh
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese plus extra for sprinkling, freshly grated
- 1 cup provolone cheese freshly grated
chili oil
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes crushed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 2 1/2 cups flour and salt, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work in the additional 1/2 cup flour, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours.
- After the dough has risen, punch it down and place it back on the floured surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, form it into your desired shape (sometimes I use baking sheets and do rectangles or free form pizzas – this specific dough will yield one pizza large enough to feed about 3-4 people) and place on a baking sheet or pizza pan. Place the towel back over the dough and let sit in the warm place for 10 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. (If I use my pizza stone, I heat my oven to 475 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. If you’re just using a baking sheet, follow the directions below for baking and set to 425 degrees.)
clam sauce
- While the dough is rising, making the topping! Heat a large saucepan over medium-low heat and add the oil and butter. Add the onions and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper and stir. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are softened. Add the wine to the saucepan and bring it to a simmer, then add the clams and cook until they begin to open. Once open, transfer them to a large bowl and pick out the clam meat.
- Continue to simmer the wine and onion mixture until the wine is reduced into a thick glaze, around 10 minutes or so. Pour in the cream and simmer it, stirring occasionally, until it is reduced by half, about 10 more minutes. Stir in the parmesan cheese. At this point, I chopped my clams so we wouldn’t have huge pieces and toss them into the sauce.
- Begin to make your pizza! Cover your dough with half of the grated provolone cheese. Add the clam sauce onto the pizza and spread it all around. Sprinkle on the remaining grated cheese.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (or around 15 to 20 minutes if using the pizza stone) until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with a drizzle of chili oil, extra pepper flake and a big handful of parsley. Some parmesan too. Devour!
chili oil
- The further ahead of time you make this, the better it will be! But you can also make it while the pizza is in the oven. Heat the oil over low heat until just warm. Stir in the pepper flakes and remove from the heat. Let cool to room temperature before using.
Notes
- This clam sauce is adapted from Serious Eats with slight modifications for pizza use.
- Use fresh littleneck clams and scrub well to avoid grit in the sauce.
- Ensure the dough has fully risen before shaping for best crust texture.
- Chili oil can be added to taste for heat, or omitted for a milder pizza.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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