Sometimes I like to call this Spanish pizza Old World-New World pizza. It combines that signature Spanish ingredient, chorizo, with peppers native to North America, including the poblano, which is a definitive ingredient in Mexican cooking. If you want a bit more spice on your pizza, you can add a few seeds from the poblano and use chorizo labeled “picante.”–Anne Bramley
HOW CAN I MAKE PIZZA DOUGH FAST?
If you’ve never before made homemade pizza dough, not to worry. This recipe takes little time, barely any effort, and less than a smidgen of talent. If you still can’t see the homemade thing happening, you don’t need our permission to swap refrigerated pizza dough for this recipe, so long as it’s the kind that’s kneaded fresh every morning at your local Italian market and not the sort that’s riddled with ice crystals and multisyllabic preservatives from the deep-freeze of your local supermarket.
Spanish Pizza with Chorizo and Peppers
Ingredients
For the Spanish pizza dough
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups warm water, 110° to 115°F | 43° to 46°C
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the bowl
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
For the Spanish pizza sauce and toppings
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 14 ounce can tomato sauce
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
- 8 ounces Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced
- 3 medium poblano chile peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 4 ounces Manchego cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
Instructions
Make the pizza dough
- In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the warm water and gently stir. Let sit until the yeast starts to foam, about 5 minutes.
- Dump the mixture into a stand mixer. Add the salt and olive oil. Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and gradually add in 1 cup of the flour, mixing until most of the lumps disappear, about 30 seconds. Slowly add in 1 cup flour and mix until just combined.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour on a pastry board or the countertop. Turn the pizza dough onto the work surface and knead in the remaining 2 cups flour. Continue to knead for a total of 5 minutes.
- Coat a clean bowl with olive oil. Move the dough to the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a towel, then place a plate on top. Let the dough rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.
Make the pizza sauce and assemble the toppings
- In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the tomato sauce, bring to a simmer, and cook for another 5 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken. Set aside to cool until the dough finishes rising.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
- After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it in half. Roll one half into a 12-inch round and place it on a baking sheet.
- Spread half of the tomato sauce over the round, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese. Top with half each of the chorizo, poblanos, and bell pepper.
- Bake the Spanish pizza for 15 to 20 minutes until the crust is lightly browned. While the first pizza is baking, prepare the second. As each pizza comes from the oven, top it with half of the Manchego cheese, slice, and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I made this Spanish pizza with chorizo and peppers for Super Bowl Sunday, and it was fantastic. On the second pie I added a few more seeds from the peppers for those who loved truly hot and spicy pizza. I served with additional Manchego cheese on the side. It was a hit!
The crust was very tasty and had a good texture. I really liked the addition of poblano peppers, chorizo, and Manchego cheese to the pizza — something a little bit different. Very nice combination.
My only comment is about the pizza crust. The recipe calls for flour, but doesn’t say what kind of flour. I always use bread or high-gluten flour for pizza dough to get that chewy, crunchy crust. And yes, my crust was wonderful. Now, to that crust, add wonderful ingredients like chorizo, mozzarella, and Manchego cheese and peppers—well, you’ve got a fabulous-tasting pizza. Very simple, very delicious. Yum!
I have to admit that I’m conflicted about giving this recipe a Testers’ Choice nod, but decided that my issues with the recipe are very personal choices and that on a whole I think this combination was outstanding. I’m a huge Spanish chorizo fan, so that helped push this recipe over the top.
I had three issues with the recipe. 1.) I thought that the crust here was fine, a little more complicated than it needed to be, but fine. I’ll use my favorite wet dough crust in the future. 2.) I thought the sauce was too heavy on the garlic. 3.) My final issue is very personal: I thought the topping amounts given resulted in the pizza being too heavy-handed. I like sparser toppings and a thin, shatteringly crisp crust. I made this recipe a second time adapted for my tastes and thought it might be the best pizza combo. Then I thought about my first experience and realized that if I weren’t a little crazed with perfecting my own pizzas, I would have thought this version was also amazing. Therefore, this is a top recipe and deserves Testers’ Choice recognition.
