Weekly Recipe: The Cal-Ital Pizza By Dan Richer

Is there any doubt that pizza is life? We’ve all been that kid who swears pizza is healthy because it covers all five major food groups, but you don’t need an excuse to love the Italian export. You just need taste buds, and maybe a few friends with which to share your slices.

No one understands the joy of pizza more than Dan Richer. He’s dedicated his life and career to perfecting the art of the pie. The New York Times once hailed his pizza as the very best in New York (regardless of the fact that he serves it in New Jersey. Heck, he literally wrote a book called The Joy of Pizza: Everything You Need to Know.

See also: 19 of the Best Italian Restaurants Across America

Now? He’s giving you a delicious pizza recipe custom designed to wow your friends and family, and yourself.

"The Cal-Ital is a luxurious pizza that blends different influences, utilizing specialty ingredients like California dates and coveted Prosciutto di Parma in a spiced wine sauce,” Richer says. “Best of all is that it's doable at home, so you can really impress your guests with this stunner. And pizza is wonderful on its own, but a properly-paired wine is really the finishing touch.”

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For this exquisite pie, Richer suggests a hearty red.

“Here you've got salty ham and the intensity of the wine sauce, so you need a wine with substance and intensity to match, such as a Bordeaux blend like Francis Ford Coppola Winery's Diamond Collection Claret,” Richer says. “I’m actually judging the upcoming final cookoff for Coppola’s Prepare Your Perfect Pizza competition (it will be back next year, too), so I’ve really become an expert in pizza and wine pairings as of late!"

This recipe actually calls for red wine in the preparation of the dates, so get an extra bottle with you in the kitchen—and maybe have a sip while you’re putting the pie together.

It also calls for orange juice and peel, fresh mozzarella, parmigiano-reggiano, arugula and pre-made pizza dough. Once you’re familiar with the recipe, you can play around with the base to create your own exciting dish, because truly, the joy in pizza is having it your way!

First, give The Cal-Ital a try the way Richer presents it. He is, after all, a true pizza expert!

The Cal-Ital

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Ingredients:

For the dates in vin cotto

• 1 bottle of red wine
• Juice of one orange
• 1 orange peel
• 50 g (¼ cup) sugar
• 10 turns black pepper
• 230 g (½ lb) fresh California dates, cut into ⅛” pieces

For the pizza

• Pizza dough for one 12” pizza
• 100 g (3/4 cup) fresh mozzarella, torn into 1” pieces
• 25 g (2 cups) loosely packed arugula
• 30 g (1 oz) thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma
• 50 g (¼ cup) cooked dates (recipe above)
• 1 teaspoon vin cotto (recipe above)
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the wine, orange juice and peel, sugar and black pepper to a boil. Turn down to simmer and cook until the syrup coats the back of a spoon, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the orange peel. Place the dates into a glass or plastic container, and pour the vin cotto (red wine syrup) over. Let the dates cool in the vin cotto, then refrigerate covered for up to 3 days.
2. Pre-heat oven to between 500 and 550 degrees with a pizza stone or steel, and place about 6” to 8” from the top of the oven for a minimum of one hour.
3. Stretch your pizza dough and place onto a floured pizza peel.
4. Distribute the fresh mozzarella evenly on top of the dough. Season with coarse sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.
5. Launch the pizza onto the pizza stone or steel. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is deeply caramelized.
6. After baking, distribute the arugula, prosciutto and cooked dates on top of the pizza. Drizzle the vin cotto over the whole pie and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately.
7. Enjoy!

Grab a copy of Richer’s book The Joy of Pizza: Everything You Need To Know online and follow him on Instagram for more delicious pizza recipes and inspiration.