Pizza in the Raw with White Anchovies
Only in the summer can one really appreciate the freshness of all the ingredients in this pizza – from the out-of-the-oven freshly baked Italian bread to the must-use-today mozzarella to the direct-from-the garden-tomatoes, arugula, basil and parsley, and finally, the wonderful white anchovies.
Ingredients
- 1 large loaf ciabatta bread, split lengthwise
- 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved
- 2 large organic tomatoes, halved
- About 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 ball fior di latte, mozzarella di bufala or fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into bite-size cubes
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves (about 20), torn or coarsely chopped
- 1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves (a few generous handfuls)
- 1 cup baby arugula leaves (a couple of generous handfuls)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 12 marinated white anchovies, drained (available at large deli counters or Italian markets)
- 1/4 small red onion, very thinly sliced
Preparation
Pre-heat an outdoor grill or the broiler.
Add the bread to the grill or broiler and char to crisp it up. Rub the hot bread planks with the garlic, then rub the tomato pulp into the bread to coat evenly (discard the tomato skins). Drizzle a couple of tablespoons EVOO over each bread plank and season with salt and pepper. Top with the cheese.
In a medium size bowl, toss the basil, parsley and arugula with the lemon juice and a drizzle of EVOO. Top the raw pizzas with the greens, anchovies and onion. Cut each half into quarters.
