Paola's Nonna Pizza with Tomatoes & Onions

Hello Pizza Friends,

A few weeks ago, after sharing a recipe and tutorial for making “grandma” style pizza, Elizabeth Mincilli commented:

“I love that you call this 'grandma style pizza'. I posted a video of Paola (an Italian nonna) making pizza the other day in Umbria and the most common question I got was why I wasn't calling this focaccia.”

I find Elizabeth’s videos — whether she is making orecchiette in Bari or taking a traghetto across a canal in Venice — completely mesmerizing, and this one was no exception:

eminchilli

A post shared by @eminchilli

I could watch Paola cook all day. Like the pasta grannies, Paola worked and moved by feel, not a measuring spoon or cup in sight, her seasoned hands dimpling and stretching the dough, dressing and tossing the tomatoes, and wielding a mandoline through the air, letting onion slices fall from the sky, scattering over her sheet pan.

Upon seeing her tomato and onion pizza emerge from her oven, I felt the need to make it immediately. The method is interesting: toss tomatoes and onions generously with olive oil and let them sit for 1 hour, which allows them to soften and infuse the oil with their flavors; spread the mixture over the dough then top with a handful of thinly sliced (un-marinated) onions; bake in a hot oven for 30 minutes.

There is no cheese on this pizza, which no doubt is why many of Elizabeth’s followers were wondering why she wasn’t calling it focaccia, and I promise you, you won’t miss it. Unencumbered by a blanket of cheese, this pizza is incredibly light with a crisp bottom, the flavors of sweet tomatoes and caramelized onion permeating every bite.

It keeps well at room temperature — no congealed cheese to worry about — and would be a perfect thing to bring to a potluck or a block party or to serve, as Paola did, as a mid-morning snack… oh to be a pizza nonna in Umbria!

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The Video: Paola’s Nonna Pizza

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The Recipe: Onion & Tomato Pizza

For this pizza you’ll need tomatoes, onion, extra-virgin olive oil, and flaky sea salt.

Paola uses a mandoline for the onion, so I did, too. First, you’ll thinly slice half of it and…

… and place the slices in a bowl with the halved tomatoes, olive oil, and a good pinch of salt. Toss and let sit for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, your dough — this is the Pan Pizza Dough from Pizza Night — has been rising in its pan for 3 to 4 hours. I assembled the tomatoes/onions around hour 3 of rising. And I stretched the dough to fit the pan then, too. It sat like this for another hour:

When the dough is ready, after roughly 4 hours, spread the marinated tomato mixture over the top.

Then, thinly slice the a portion of the remaining onion half, and spread the slices over the top — it’s maybe a half cup or a big handful of slices. Dimple one last time.

Bake at 450ºF on a preheated Baking Steel if time permits for 30 minutes.

Transfer to a cooling rack briefly then…

… cut and serve. So light!

Nice undercarriage thanks to a few things: generous buttering of the pan (butter helps with browning) + olive oil, Lloyd steel pan, and a Baking Steel.

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Love pizza and salad? Find recipes, tips, and tricks in Pizza Night 🍕🍕🥗🥗

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