A Delicious Misunderstanding: Pizza con Polpo #Sponsored

  This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Quail & Olive.
Complimentary product was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.
However, all opinions expressed here are my own. 

A few weeks ago a couple of friends posted that they were making octopus pizzas. Wow! I was so impressed and inspired. I mean, I put all sorts of adventurous things on my pizzas - clams, potatoes, arugula pesto with pears, and more - but I have never topped my pizza with octopus. Why not, I thought!

photos from Denise E. and the Fork and Beans blog

Come to find out they were in this vein - like the Octopus Pizzas by Fork and Beans. Not at all what I was envisioning. 

I happened to have a couple of tins of octopus in my cupboard and decided to give it a try for our Friday pizza night this week. I'll probably start with a whole octopus next time and top the pizza with grilled tentacles...like the ones from my Grilled Octopus and Potatoes Salad.

But for this week, we have tinned octopus. I also used some pantry items from The Quail & Olive,* including  a can of Bianco DiNapoli Organic Crushed Tomatoes and the Doctor's Blend Olive Oil for this recipe. 

I really appreciate the curated pantry items that Annelise stocks at her shop. Her items are largely local or thoughtfully selected and they are so much fun. You'll see a few specialty items coming up in recipes soon, including a spice blend from Andalusia and a mustard made with Banyuls vinegar from France. Stay tuned. 

But let's get back to my octopus pizza! Also though this recipe makes six crusts, I made a few octopus pizzas, a few mushrooms pizzas, and a few just cheese, tomato, and basil. We ate four; I gave one to my parents; and one D and I are having for breakfast today. The two of us love cold pizza for breakfast. The other two in my household do not. More for us!

 Ingredients 
makes six 8" pizzas (easily halved, but we love our pizza and having leftovers)

Crust

• 1 cup sourdough starter, unfed/discard
• 1 cup sourdough starter, recently fed (within 8 hours)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 cups flour plus more for kneading
• oil for the bowl

Toppings

• crushed tomatoes 
• fresh tomatoes (I used halved cherry tomatoes)
• fresh mozzarella
• shredded mozzarella
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper
• olive oil 
• octopus pieces
• fresh basil

Procedure

Crust
Place starters and water into a large mixing bowl. Stir gently to get rid of any lumps from the unfed starter; mine is always a thick lump. Spoon the yeast over the top and let bloom for 10 minutes. Add in the flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to combine to a shaggy dough like the photo above.
 
Turn the dough onto a floured counter and knead until smooth and elastic. Mine takes about 10 minutes of kneading.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise for as long as you can - or at least until it's doubled in size. I usually do my dough before I go to work and leave it till dinner time, so about 8 or 9 hours.

When you're ready to cook, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut your dough into six pieces. Handstretch the dough into a round shape and place it on a baking stone. Or, if you have someone more adventurous, you can toss them. Here's how that conversation went last night...

J: Are you going to throw the dough in the air?

C: What?

J: Are you going to throw the dough?

C: How many years have I been making pizza for us? Have I ever thrown the pizza dough?

J: Let me try!

C: Okay.

 

His were definitely more round than my abstract crusts! Spoon sauce onto the crust and spread it almost to the edges. Add your tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.

Add shredded mozzarella, then place the octopus pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.

Place pizza in the oven for 16 to 18 minutes. You want the crust crisped and browned and the cheese gooey and melted.

Remove from the oven. Top with fresh basil and serve hot.

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*Disclosure: I receive compensation in the form of complimentary products for recipe development 

and generating social media traction. All opinions are my own.