Pizza di Scarola | Neapolitan Stuffed Escarole Pizza Recipe

Walk down the streets of Naples, and you’ll be overwhelmed with a huge variety of enticing treats to try. One might not catch your eye, due to its humble (and altogether too green) appearance, but it would if you had tasted it before!

Pizza di Scarola | Neapolitan Stuffed Escarole Pizza Recipe

This is Pizza di Scarola, a stuffed pizza full of sweet and savory escarole. It might not sound like much, but the powerful taste of this bitter green (when treated properly) makes for an incredible and unique pizza that everyone should try!

The Stuffing

This pizza is stuffed with escarole cooked with ingredients which complement its bitterness: olives, capers, raisins, anchovies, etc. The filling is actually exactly the same as our Scarola Ripassata recipe, so before tackling the pizza, be sure to head over there and make this easy, quick dish. Because we need a minimum amount in order to properly fill the pizza, do be sure to use at least 1.75 pounds (800 grams) of raw escarole so that you’re sure to have enough. To save time, you can easily make the stuffing while the pizza dough is rising.

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PIZZA DI SCAROLA RECIPE

Makes: One rectangular pizza, 6 to 8 servings

Cook Time: Up to 6 ½ hours, mostly unattended

For this recipe, you will need:

• 500 grams bread flour, plus extra for dusting

• 1 ¼ teaspoons (4 grams) active dry yeast

• 1 teaspoon (5 grams) granulated sugar

• 280 milliliters water

• 2 teaspoons (10 grams) salt

• 1 ⅓ tablespoons (20 grams) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing

• Scarola Ripassata (see above)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and sugar, and mix thoroughly. Add roughly ⅔ of the water while stirring with a wooden spoon. When a rough, crumbly dough forms, add the salt and the remaining water, and knead the dough in the bowl by hand until all of the water is evenly incorporated.

Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then, add the olive oil and keep kneading the dough in the bowl until the oil is evenly incorporated.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise until it doubles in size—3 to 4 hours, depending on the temperature. While it’s rising, you can make the Scarola Ripassata stuffing.

Transfer the risen dough onto a floured surface and cut it into two portions. One portion should be slightly larger than the other. Liberally grease the inside of a rectangular baking tray (about 10 x 15 inches, or 25 x 38 cm, but a little larger or smaller is fine) with olive oil.

Using your hands and pressing from the center toward the edges, press the larger portion of dough into a rough rectangle the size of the pan. You can help shape it by gently pulling the edges. Place the dough into the pan and press it out until it fills the pan. Push the edges up slightly against the pan rim to create a shallow lip.

Cover the dough evenly with the scarola ripassata, leaving about an inch of margin around the edges. Spread the second portion of dough out into a rectangle and use it to cover the escarole. Press the edges of the two dough portions together to seal the pizza shut. Cover the pizza with a towel and let it rise for an additional 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425° F (220° C).

Cut a few small holes in the surface of the pizza top to allow steam to escape. Drizzle some olive oil on top of the pizza and brush it evenly across the surface of the dough. Bake the pizza for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top and bottom are cooked.

Let the pizza cool before serving warm, or even at room temperature.

Buon appetito!