Pizza marinara
Pizza marinara: Naples's original cheese-free pizza with tomato, garlic and oregano
Older than the margherita, the marinara is the pizza Neapolitan sailors' wives are said to have made for the men coming back from sea: tomato, garlic, oregano and olive oil, no cheese and no fish, despite the name. At the historic pizzerie around Via dei Tribunali it is the purist's order and the true test of a pizzaiolo, because there is nothing to hide behind. A home oven can't reach the 450 °C of a wood oven, so this recipe uses a very hot steel or stone and the grill. Chef's tip: use tomatoes crushed by hand with just a pinch of salt and never cook the sauce first; it cooks on the pizza and keeps its fresh taste.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ⅛ lb tipo 00 pizza flouror strong white bread flour
- 1 ¼ cups cool water
- ⅜ oz fine salt
For the topping
- 14 oz tinned peeled plum tomatoesdrained and crushed by hand
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cloves garlicthinly sliced
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 8 basil leavesopt
- 2 tbsp semolinafor the peel
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What you'll need
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb tipo 00 pizza flour, 1 ¼ cups cool water and ⅛ oz fast-action dried yeast in a bowl, then add ⅜ oz fine salt and knead for 10 minutes, until smooth and springy. Cover and leave for 2 hours at room temperature, until doubled.
130 minStep 2: Divide into four balls, put them on a floured tray, cover and leave for 1 hour more, until puffy. For a better flavour, rest the balls in the fridge overnight and take them out 2 hours before baking.
60 minStep 3: Put a pizza steel or stone on the top shelf of the oven and heat it to its highest setting, at least 475°F, for 45 minutes.
45 minStep 4: Mix 14 oz tinned peeled plum tomatoes with ½ tsp salt. Press out a dough ball with your fingertips from the centre, leaving a puffy 1 cm rim, and stretch it to about 28 cm. Common mistake: using a rolling pin; it pushes out the air, and the rim won't puff. Lay it on a peel dusted with 2 tbsp semolina.
Step 5: Spread a quarter of the tomato over the base, scatter with 3 cloves garlic and 2 tsp dried oregano, and drizzle with 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
Step 6: Slide onto the hot stone and bake for 5–7 minutes, switching to the grill for the last 1–2 minutes, until the rim is puffed and spotted dark brown and the base is crisp underneath. Add 8 basil leaves, if using, and serve. Repeat with the rest.
7 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 98 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pizza marinara take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
- What can I use instead of tinned peeled plum tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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