Two Ciabatta Pizzas and Delicieux (Delicious)

Hello and welcome to Pizza and a Movie! Today, we are taking things easy with Two Ciabatta Pizzas. Our movie this week is a feast for the senses! Delicieux is French film about the creation of the first restaurant, in 1789. Today’s recipe is for two different pizzas; we have pesto and Serrano ham for one and for the other one, we have Italian Speck, Calabrian chilis and we will top the second one with a fresh chopped salad. Let’s get right to it!

Ciabatta Pizza

Ciabatta is a slightly flat Italian bread loaf with an airy, light crumb. It’s a little like focaccia, in that sense. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and slice the Ciabatta loaf horizontally to create two pizza surfaces. Place the two halves on a sheet tray.

As I mentioned at the top, we will make two kinds of pizzas today. Both will have a tomato sauce base and grated mozzarella. Then, we have one pizza with Spanish Serrano Ham and pesto dollops, topped with mozzarella pearls. And for the second pizza, we have Italian Speck, which is a thinly sliced cured ham; with dollops of Calabrian chopped peppers and ricotta.

Serrano ham and Prosciutto are virtually identical in preparation and service, the difference being the Serrano ham comes from a specific breed of pig indigenous to Spain. Speck is cured with spices and smoked. It’s more similar to bacon, so Pancetta would be a close substitute.

If you can’t find Serrano ham and Speck at your supermarket, you can substitute Prosciutto for the Serrano ham, and cooked Pancetta for the Speck.

Assembling the Two Ciabatta Pizzas

Spread a layer of tomato sauce on each Ciabatta half and cover each sauced half with about half a cup of grated mozzarella cheese. Our Serrano ham pizza will be on the left and the Speck pizza on the right.

Now for the meat. Separate each slice of meat and make a little crumple with each slice and place on the pizza. Depending on the size of your Ciabatta, you should be able to cover the whole pizza with little meat bundles. Bunching and making little folds in the slices of meat makes for great texture differences and it makes for an easy bite – whereas a flat slice of meat will tend to pull when you bite, pulling off toppings. Biting off more than you can chew, so to say.

Now, for the Serrano ham pizza, dollop little spoon fulls of fresh pesto evenly around the pizza. For the Speck pizza do the same with the crushed Calabrian peppers.

Then top the Serrano ham and pesto pizza with mozzarella pearls. And top the Speck pizza with little dollops of ricotta cheese.

Slide the sheet tray with the pizza into the preheated oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the Ciabatta is toasted. Meanwhile, make a little chopped salad to garnish the Speck pizza.

Chopped Salad

For the chopped salad, I have about 1 cup of chopped mixed greens and 1 thinly sliced shallot. Toss the veg in a small bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and a glug of sherry vinegar. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley. Toss this all together and season with flaky sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Set aside until the pizzas are ready.

When the pizzas come out of the oven, use a rigid spatula to transfer the two Ciabatta Pizzas to a cutting board. Use kitchen tongs to top the Speck pizza with the dressed chopped salad.

Use a long sharp knife or pizza blade to slice the pizzas, horizontally, along the short side.

Two Ciabatta Pizzas

Both of these pizzas are winners! The Ciabatta toasted nicely in the oven, giving a soft-on-the-inside, crunchy-on-the-outside texture, much like a French bread pizza but with less bread. If you have been following the blog for a bit, you might recall another salad-topped pizza I have done: Bresaola and Arugula Salad Pizza. I love the contrast of melty cheese and pizza toppings with the fresh, vinegary bite of fresh salad. If you’ve never tried it, I emphatically encourage you to give it a go!

Movie Night: Delicieux (Delicious)

We have our Two Ciabatta Pizzas ready, so let’s get to the movie! Delicieux is a new French film that tells the creation story of the very first restaurant, in 1789. I have been eagerly waiting for this movie to become available to rent, and finally it’s here! The film follows Manceron, a chef in the Duke’s Chateau who gets sacked over a potato and truffle pastry. Eventually landing as an innkeeper, he (with the help of his son and an apprentice cook) develops the concept, and invention, of the first restaurant.

This film is absolutely beautiful. The French countryside, the costumes, the food…it’s all a feast for the senses. The tight shots of food preparation and the cleverly crafted still life tableaus are just such a joy to see played out on the screen. This is a feel-good romantic comedy with gorgeously prepared, classic French cooking at the forefront. Delicieux is available to rent on Apple TV and Vudu. If you enjoy romantic period pieces and films about food, this movie is must-see!

Thank you all so much for stopping by today for Pizza and a Movie! Be sure to follow me on Pinterest, to keep all of the Djalali Cooks recipes in one easy location! Take care and be well everyone! xo Kelly

Print Recipe

Two Ciabatta Pizzas

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Dinner, Main Course – American/Italian

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: Makes Two Pizzas

Prep Time: 15 Minutes – Cooking Time: 10-15 Minutes – Total Time: ~30 Minutes

Two different pizzas made on light and airy Ciabatta bread. One with Italian Speck, ricotta, topped with a chopped salad. One with Serrano ham and Pesto.

Ingredients

• 1 Loaf Ciabatta Bread, sliced in half horizontally
• 1 cup Tomato Sauce
• 1-1.5 cups Grated Low Moisture Mozzarella
• 3 oz. Serrano Ham
• 3 oz. Italian Speck
• 3 tbsp. Fresh Pesto
• 2 tbsp. Chopped Calabrian Peppers
• Small handful Mozzarella Pearls
• 1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese
• Chopped Salad
• 1 cup Chopped Salad Greens
• 1 Shallot, sliced thin
• Drizzle of Olive oIl
• 1 tbsp. Aged Sherry Vinegar
• Flaky Finishing Salt
• Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and slice the Ciabatta loaf horizontally to create two pizza surfaces. Place the two halves on a sheet tray.

2

Spread a layer of tomato sauce on each Ciabatta half and cover each sauced half with about half a cup of grated mozzarella cheese.

3

Separate each slice of meat and make a little crumple with each slice and place the Serrano ham on one pizza and the Speck on the other. Depending on the size of your Ciabatta, you should be able to cover the whole pizza with little meat bundles.

4

For the Serrano ham pizza, dollop little spoon fulls of fresh pesto evenly around the pizza.

5

For the Speck pizza do the same with the crushed Calabrian chilis.

6

Then top the Serrano ham and pesto pizza with mozzarella pearls.

7

Top the Speck pizza with little dollops of ricotta cheese.

8

Bake the pizzas for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the Ciabatta is toasted.

9

Meanwhile make the chopped salad.

10

Combine chopped mixed greens, sliced shallot, chopped parsley, olive oil and sherry vinegar in a small bowl. Toss until greens and shallots are coated in oil and vinegar. Season with flaky sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

11

When the pizzas come out of the oven, transfer them to a cutting board.

12

Use kitchen tongs to top the Speck Pizza with the chopped salad.

13

Slice horizontally on the short side, down the length of the pizzas, and serve.