Pizzette

I love writing about pizza, I love it for many reasons, the pictures are always so pretty and of course I love to eat pizza, in any form. We are still looking for the perfect pizza in Charleston, tons of places have been recommended, we’ve tried a few and they have all been pretty mediocre. We still haven’t made any pizza on our own though, despite the pizza stone that my husband received for Christmas. 

You can really find pizzette in most bakeries in Italy, they take on different forms, mainly with the dough that is used. The pizzette that you find in Rome are usually made with puff pastry, they are so deliciously light and fluffy and so easy to make at home.

I’ve made these pizzette a number of times, they are great for a big group of people and perfect for kids. I like to make them for my 4 year old nephew and he eats them by the dozen, I think it’s that Neapolitan blood running through his veins.

Pizzette

• 1 pack of puff pastry dough (there are usually 2 sheets in one pack)
• 1 14.5 oz. can of tomato sauce (you can also puree chopped tomatoes, but you want a very smooth consistency, no chunks)
• 2 cups of grated mozzarella (the block o’ mozz that you can find at the grocery store works fine, don’t waste real buffalo mozzarella on this)
• 1/2 cup basil, cut into thin strips
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Most pre-made puff pastry dough is frozen, unless you have the courage to make it yourself, but I don’t think I will ever be so bold.

Defrost the puff pastry dough according to the instructions on the box, usually about 4 minutes, I try to unfold the sheet mid-thaw so that it doesn’t stick.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

With the rim of a glass cut circles out of the pastry dough, I used a wine glass because the edge was thinner and the size was right. You don’t want them to be too big, bite sized is the idea and the smaller you make them, the more you can make!

Arrange the pastry on a cookie sheet, they can be crowded, they don’t expand like a cookie  and don’t really stick together. Paint the pastries with olive oil and spread a teaspoon of tomato sauce on the pastries. You want a thin layer of sauce, but make sure you cover the pastry with the sauce.

Place a sliver of basil on each pastry and then sprinkle cheese on each one. The amount of cheese you put on there is up to you, but i don’t recommend smothering the poor dears.

Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pastries are browned on the bottom.

Serve immediately.

Yield: Should make 36 pizzette

~ by italicious on March 2, 2009.