Pizza al Fumo

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A pizza inspired by the Tuscan pasta dish from Cortona called Pasta al Fumo, which translates to "smoked pasta." The smoke flavor comes from the smoked bacon which is cooked down with rosemary and garlic in a tomato cream sauce. Some folks add vodka, but my preference is to omit it (politics aside). It's traditionally served with a type of eggless pasta called pici, sometimes penne, but I wanted to see how it translated into a pizza format. Spooned on top of a 00 + AP + Maiorca + semola rimacinata cuore dough, and topped with mozzarella ciliegine + grated pecorino and some good EVOO. This came out even better than I could have imagined.

The Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)

  • 3 sprigs of rosemary

  • 1/2 cup of smoked bacon (or smoked pancetta) finely minced

  • high quality tomatoes (about 1 cup, crushed by hand)

  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

  • salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Bring a skillet to medium/low heat and add the olive oil.

  2. Saute the minced garlic, bacon, and rosemary for about 5 minutes until there is a nice color on the bacon and the fat begins to render down. Be mindful not to burn the garlic if the pan is too hot.

  3. Add the tomato paste and incorporate into the mixture.

  4. Add the crushed tomatoes and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.

  5. Slowly add in the cream, stirring constantly. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

  6. Remove from the heat and remove the rosemary from the sauce. Set aside and allow to cool. Can be made up to 3 days in advance.

The Pizza

Ingredients:

  • Al fumo sauce

  • Good olive oil

  • Pecorino romano

  • Dough of your choice

Directions:

  1. I’m not including the entire dough recipe here yet although I may add it eventually. You can use whatever dough recipe you prefer. For this pizza I am using a combination of King Arthur all purpose flour, and some Sicilian Maiorca and Semola Rimacinata Cuore.

  2. Stretch your dough and prepare for the toppings.

  3. Spoon on a layer of the al fumo sauce evenly across the surface leaving the edges clear.

  4. Break apart the mozzarella with your fingers, tearing little roughly shaped pieces. Distribute evenly across the pizza, being mindful not to overload it. Leave plently of space for the cheese to melt together with the sauce.

  5. Grate on some Pecorino romano across the top and drizzle with a high quality olive oil

  6. Slide the pizza on your peel and launch directly into your oven.

  7. If baking at high temperatures in a wood fired oven, the pizza should be done in about 2 minutes.

  8. If baking indoors in a conventional oven, at 500F, this will take roughly 7-8 minutes.