Calamari and Chorizo Pizza with Caramelized Fennel and Shaved Manchego
Oct 01, 2015Posted by Brigit BinnsPrint
This recipe was demonstrated at the 2015 Forno Bravo EXPO by author and culinary instructor, Brigit Binns, owner of Refugio Paso Robles.
If your fennel is missing its feathery green tops, scatter the finished pizza with roughly torn fresh dill.
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 small bulb fennel, quartered, cored, and slivered crosswise (greens reserved for garnish)
1 tablespoon medium-dry white wine, such as Viognier
Fine sea salt
One 9-ounce dough ball, at room temperature
Rice flour and cornmeal, for shaping and cooking the pizza
3 ounces cured chorizo, skin removed and sliced very thinly on the diagonal
3 ounces shaved Manchego, or other aged sheep’s milk cheese
3 ounces calamari (aka squid) rings and tentacles
¼ teaspoon black lava salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Torn fresh fennel tops or dill, for garnish
In a heavy skillet over medium-low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the fennel and wine, and season lightly with salt. Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring more frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the fennel is slightly golden, 5–10 minutes more. Be careful not to let them scorch. (This may be done ahead of time.)
Prepare a wood-fired oven for high-heat pizza-making.
Flour a board and your hands with rice flour, then stretch and pull the dough (never press) into a roughly 13-inch round or oval; don’t try to make it perfect. Transfer to a wooden pizza peel liberally sprinkled with cornmeal. Working quickly, drizzle the dough evenly with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and scatter the fennel evenly over the top, leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange the chorizo evenly and top with the shaved Manchego, again leaving a 1-inch border. Scatter with the calamari rings and tentacles, and black lava salt. Jiggle the dough on the peel to make sure its still mobile, then slide it smoothly into the hot oven. Bake until the edges are golden and the cheese is melty, 1 ½ to 4 minutes, depending on your oven. Retrieve with a metal pizza peel, transfer to a cutting board, and grind plenty of fresh pepper over the top. Scatter with the fennel tops, slice, and enjoy.
