Clam Pizza

Ingredients

½ recipe Sheet Pan Pizza Dough (page 274)

Extra-virgin olive oil

½ medium onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1½ cups (355 ml) dry white wine

3 dozen littleneck or Manila clams (about 4 1b/1.8 kg), scrubbed

1½ cups (355 ml) heavy or whipping cream

Dried chile flakes

½ cup (15 g) roughly chopped parsley

Directions

Prepare the dough, heat the oven, and spread the dough in the sheet pan as directed. Meanwhile, heat a glug of olive oil in a large heavy- bottomed saucepan with a lid or a Dutch oven. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly until they are soft and fragrant but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and add the clams. Cover the pot and steam the clams until they open. Transfer the clams to a big bowl and let them cool; you'll want to use the juices that collect in the bowl. Discard any clams that do not open.

Line a sieve with cheesecloth and strain the clam cooking liquid into a small saucepan to remove any grit. Press on the onion and garlic to extract all their flavor. Add the cream to the pan and simmer gently until thickened and reduced to about 1/ cups (355 ml), about 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.

When the clams are cool enough to handle, pluck out all the meat and set aside; strain the juices from the bowl through the cheesecloth and add to the glaze. When the pizza dough is ready, brush or spoon the cream sauce over the dough, distribute the clams evenly over the pizza, and sprinkle with chile flakes. Bake until the bottom of the crust is nicely browned and the edges are puffed and browned, and the sauce is bubbling a bit and a deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. Dress the hot pizza with the parsley.

Transfer the pizza to a rack as soon as possible, so the bottom crust stays crisp. Cut into squares and serve hot.

Notes

This is essentially the clam pizza we made during my time at Franny's in Brooklyn, though it's a sheet pan version. Don't be surprised by how much creamy sauce you're adding. It bakes into the dough and is amazing.