Clam pizza. It’s a real thing. It was invented at this place. But, before we begin, if you need help making pizza dough, go HERE.
If you’re not from New England you might not know about the legendary Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napolitana established in 1925 in New Haven, CT. Pepe’s is famous for it’s thin crust pizza baked in coal-fired ovens. The tomato pies are excellent, but Frank’s White Clam Pizza (which he appears to be holding above) topped simply with fresh clams, grated cheese, olive oil, fresh garlic and oregano, invented sometime in the mid 1960s, really put him in the pizza hall of fame. His restaurant was already serving Rhode Island littlenecks on the half shell, so he went the next step and put some fresh clams on a pie.
White Clam Pizza is a study in minimalism. Toppings are deliberately sparse so the sweet, delicate oceany flavor of the clams can shine through. Be sure the clams are well-drained before sprinkling them on the dough. An arugula salad simply dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt is a plus. And your favorite Italian white or red.
You’ll find chopped fresh clams or pints of fresh-frozen clams at your fish market or supermarket seafood counter. Even in Nashville we can buy pints of our Galilee, RI, frozen chopped clams and they are quite delicious. Shucking your own clams is always an option when available.
When immersed in a Rhode Island seafood frenzy we tend to push the ingredients out of their tradition zone. Here we went further than Frank Pepe and made a couple of other fun clam pizza variations: the Clam Chowder Pizza and the Rhode Island Red Chowder Pizza. The cool thing about chowder pizza is that it includes thinly sliced potatoes. That may strike you as odd, but the creamy sliced potatoes act almost like soft cheese in the mix. Clam chowder is often flavored with salt pork or bacon, so we added crisp bacon and bits of spicy Rhode Island soppressata (aka “Soupy”) to our pies.
Rhode Island Red Chowder Pizza is a take-off on the fabulous Portuguese influenced chowder variation that isn’t too red like Manhattan but does benefit from a hint of tomato, plus spicy garlicky Portuguese chourico (shoor-reese) or milder linguica (lin-gwee-sah) sausage. It’s wicked good. Luckily we can find Gaspar’s Portuguese sausages in Nashville, too.
Cheese is optional on all the clam pies. A little grated Parmesan is very nice, but not essential to the sweet briny goodness. What you really don’t want is heavy rubbery mozzarella covering up all those delicate clams.
The important thing to remember when making a clam pizza is not to overload it with too much of a good thing. Be sure to drain the clams well (freeze that briny clam juice for making chowder later) because you really don’t want a watery mess on your pie. Your beautiful masterpiece must slide easily from the floured peel into the mouth of your oven or KettlePizza. This gentle slide can become a challenge with an overload of heavy wet ingredients. In a hot oven, the quick cooking keeps the clams tender, not rubber band chewy.
If corn is in and you have a couple of leftover cooked ears in the refrigerator, put them to good use on your clam pizzas. Cut off the kernels with a sharp knife and sprinkle them over the pie before baking. But not too much!
Clam Chowder Pizza
Small red or white waxy potatoes (about 10 slices per 8-inch pie)
Olive oil
Chopped fresh clams, well drained (about ½ cup per 8-inch pie)
Fresh garlic smashed and minced with a good pinch of coarse salt (about 1 medium clove per 8-inch pie)
Crumbled crisply cooked chopped bacon (about 2 tablespoons per 8-inch pie)
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Freshly ground coarse black pepper
Chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, to taste
Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are tender, but not mushy. They are ready when a sharp knife tip slides in smoothly, but the potatoes don’t break apart. Drain and cool in a colander. When cool, cut the potatoes into about ¼-inch slices.
Place your stretched dough on a well-floured peel. Spread a thin layer of olive oil over the dough. Dot with the minced garlic and spread around with your fingertips. Arrange the sliced potatoes over the top. Sprinkle the clams over the potatoes. Sprinkle on the bacon. Dust with cheese, if you like. Cook the pizza until the crust is nicely charred. Sprinkle with black pepper and parsley and serve immediately.
Rhode Island Red Chowder Pizza
Small red or white waxy potatoes (about 10 slices per 8-inch pie)
Olive Oil
Fresh garlic smashed and minced with a good pinch of coarse salt
Chopped fresh clams, well drained (about ½ cup per 8-inch pie)
Diced canned tomatoes, well-drained (about 3 tablespoons per 8-inch pie)
Diced cooked Portuguese chourico (or linguica for a milder pie) sausage (about 2 tablespoons per 8-inch pie)
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley or cilantro
Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are tender, but not mushy. They are ready when a sharp knife tip slides in smoothly, but the potatoes don’t break apart. Drain and cool in a colander. When cool, cut the potatoes into about ¼-inch slices.
Place your stretched dough on a well-floured peel. Spread a thin layer of olive oil over the dough. Dot with the minced garlic and spread around with your fingertips. Arrange the sliced potatoes over the top. Sprinkle the clams over the potatoes. Add the diced tomato. Sprinkle on the chourico. Dust with cheese, if you like. Cook the pizza until the crust is nicely charred. Sprinkle with black pepper and parsley or cilantro and serve immediately.
