It's National Pizza Week! Executive Chef Sarah Grueneberg of Spiaggia Offers Her Healthy Pizza Recipe...

Café Spiaggia’s Spicy Calamari Pizza

For the Marinade:

1 ½ pounds thinly sliced calamari rings
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the Pizza Dough:

4 cups Italian caputo flour (oo)
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 packets active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ cups lukewarm water

For the Topping:

Extra virgin olive oil for brushing
1 cup tomato sauce
½ cup Neonata, also known as Rosamarina, a spicy Calabrian chili paste

2 pounds fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 cup julienne escarole leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper


Makes 4 pizzas

In a blender or food processor, puree the paprika, oregano, pepper, salt, garlic, and olive oil until smooth to make a marinade.

Put the calamari in a non reactive shallow dish. Pour the marinade over the calamari and toss to coat evenly. Cover and marinate the calamari in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours.

Make the dough. In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, yeast and sugar. Add the water to the dry ingredients and mix until the water is absorbed and the dough forms shards. Turn the dough out onto a board and knead for 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth.

If using a stand mixer, mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar together in the mixing bowl, stirring to combine. On low speed, pour in the water and mix using the dough hook. Mix on low until the dough forms around the hook, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix the dough again but on medium speed for another 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth.

On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Place on a floured sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees with a baking stone if possible.

Working with one piece of dough at a time, (cover the remaining dough with a moist kitchen towel until ready to use) flatten the dough on a floured work surface. Carefully stretch the dough out with the edge of your hands. Next, gently roll out the pizza dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch-thick.

Brush the dough with a thin layer of olive oil. Then brush on a thin layer of tomato sauce and neonata, spreading to the edge. Top with ¼ of the cheese cubes, and top with calamari and escarole and season with salt and pepper. Place the pizza directly on the pizza stone and bake for 10 minutes or until crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.

Remove from the oven onto a cutting board and cut into 8 slices and serve.

Repeat the process to make the remaining 3 pizzas.