When Lisa was young, she would visit Sicily with her parents- both during summers and, often, at Christmastime. When she went out to pizzerie with her family, a discussion would always ensue: did they want the classic Sicilian pizza or another version? Lisa always wanted (to her mother’s chagrin!) the high, thick, soft on the inside, crunchy on the bottom sfincione. Deliciously satisfying, this is Lisa’s favorite pizza and, over the years, she has recreated it for her family on their Saturday pizza nights. Make your own with Lisa’s recipe, and watch her make it on the Lisa’s Italian Kitchen YouTube channel!

Sfincione/Sicilian Pizza Ingredients:

Pizza dough of your choice, doubled

One 24 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes, whole

One 5 ounce tube of tomato paste from Italy

4 cloves of garlic

½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

Any of the following cheese of your choice:

• Two balls of burrata OR
• 12 ounces of shredded mozzarella OR
• 10 slices of spicy (piccante) provolone

1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme, dried oregano, and dried basilico

Sicilian Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sfincione/Sicilian Pizza Directions:

Roll out the two balls of pizza dough together in a 12 x 18 square.

Use either a 12 x 18 cake pan (1 inch deep) or a jelly roll pan. Sprinkle EVOO to cover the bottom of the pan. Place the dough in the pan and with your fingertips push the corners of the dough up against the edges of the pan.

In the meanwhile, to make the sauce, in a large pan, place 1/2 cup of EVOO and garlic cloves, sliced. Add the can of whole, peeled, San Marzano tomatoes and the entire tube of tomato paste. Stir. When cool, put the tomato mixture in a blender and purée. The mixture should be thick and pasty, not liquid like a tomato sauce.

Pour the tomato sauce on top of the pizza dough. Sprinkle herbs on top of the tomato sauce. Place the cheese of your choice on top. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until golden.