Paris Pizza Friday

Bonjour and happy Paris Pizza Friday! I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have pizza on a Friday evening. Growing up we had pizza Friday’s. I remember at Aunt Patty’s we would have Doritos with Velveeta cheese melted on top and Donato’s pizza – good times. On our last trip to Paris, we made sure we went for pizza on Friday evening at Alimento (pictured above), and what an awesome pizza it was. I thought this week I would pick out my favorite movies that take place in Paris and pair them with a pizza. Sounds fun, non? The only problem is trying to decide which combo I’m going to pick tonight!

French Kiss – Pissaladière

I think this is my favorite movie that takes place in Paris (and France). It’s from 1995 but it looks like it was the first time I went to France with my French class in 1987. I’ve watched it 50 times, at least. I know my husband probably never wants to watch it again. It’s charming, funny and it’s France. They end up in the south of France, which is where the Pissaladière is from. Perfect.

The Red Balloon (1956) – Pizza Marinara

I can’t remember if I first saw this in elementary or middle school. I remember I was entranced, it stuck with me forever. Everyone who see’s it feels that way, I’m sure. It’s a beautiful, enchanting movie about a little Parisian boy and the red balloon that finds him. Everyone should see this. The Pizza Marinara from A Couple Cooks is a perfect red pizza pairing to The Red Balloon.

The Da Vinci Code – Florentine Pizza

Did you know Leonardo Da Vinci preferred a vegetarian diet? And he ate a lot of spinach. And he lived in Florence. A dish labeled Florentine means it has spinach. Voilà. Here’s a variation of Pizza Florentine from Weight Watchers, and here is one from BBC.

Paris Je t’aime – Brie Tartine

I love Paris. I love Brie and baguettes. This seems like the perfect combination. My Brie Tartine is really just a spin-off of French Bread Pizza after all.

Amélie – Cacio e Pepe Pizza

Of course, Amélie is the perfect Parisian movie. So unique, magical really. The way she helps all the people around her is something we all need to do a little more of too. In one scene she is alone cooking dinner in her apartment. It’s a pasta dish which she grates cheese on. I’m thinking it looks like Cacio e Pepe.

Charade – French Onion Pizza

It’s Audrey. And Cary Grant. And Paris, in 1963. An elegant, suspenseful thriller. In the scene in a cafe with Walter Matthau when she is telling him she wants to get out of town, Audrey (Regina) orders onion soup. I don’t think she ever eats it, she’s too busy smoking all of his cigarettes, but still.

Bourne Identity – Calabrese Pizza

When Jason and Marie first arrive in Paris they are parked on the Quai de la Tournelle. If you walk up to the street and go down rue de Pontoise you would come to Alimento. That’s where we had our Friday night pizza in Paris.

At Alimento we had the Calabrese Pizza: San Marzano bio, mozzarella di bufala, Spianata Calabra, mascarpone. Spianata Calabra is a spicy lean pork salami with red chili pepper. I’m avoiding pork, I’m looking for a turkey salami. This one from Zoe’s Meats looks perfect, in fact, I just ordered it as I’m writing this 😉 Here is my version of Alimento’s Calabrese Pizza. À bientôt!

Print Recipe

Friday Pizza Calabrese

At Alimento Paris we had their Calabrese Pizza with San Marzano bio, mozzarella di bufala, Spianata Calabra, mascarpone. Spianata Calabra is a spicy lean pork salami with red chili pepper. I’m avoiding pork, so I substituted a deliciously spicy turkey salami from Zoe’s Meats.  Here is my version of Alimento’s Calabrese Pizza.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French, Italian

Keyword: Parisian, Pizza

Servings: 2 10 inch pies

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

• 2 cups flour * plus extra for dusting and kneading
• ¾ cup warm water
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Pizza

• 15 oz can San Marzano whole tomatoes
• 1 ball buffalo mozzarella
• spicy turkey salami * I like Zoe's
• marscapone
• basil
• salt, pepper

Instructions

• For the dough:

  Pour the warm water and yeast into a bowl, let sit 5 minutes. Put flour, sugar and salt in bowl of stand mixer and combine. Add yeast mixture and olive oil to flour mixture. Mix/knead using dough hook for 8 minutes. If mixture looks too sticky, add more flour as needed. Place dough on lightly floured surface, knead a few times by hand and form into a ball. Place in large oiled bowl and cover, put in fridge overnight.
• For the pizza:

  When ready to make pizza, make sure and take out of fridge and bring to room temp first. Cut into two balls, form into as thin of a crust as you can manage. Let rest for a few. (I follow the method from this video/article – thank you Chef Jacob!)

  Place pizza stones in oven and preheat oven to 475 F (if you don’t have pizza stones, use upside down sheet pans but don’t preheat them).

  Put the drained can of tomatoes in a bowl and use an immersion blender to blend, leave some chunks (or blitz in a food processor, or finely chop and mush a little with flat edge of knife). Drain tomatoes of extra water. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  If baking on an upside down sheet pan, put dough on lightly floured pans first. Top each pizza lightly with tomato sauce. Add slices of mozzarella. Add thin slices of turkey salami. Use a pizza peel to place on pizza stones in oven. Alternately, use an upside down lightly floured sheet pan to slide pizzas on to pizza stone.

  Finally, bake about 10 minutes, or until desired doneness. Remove from oven, place on cutting board. Top with a dollop or two or marscapone, and a few leaves of fresh basil, Slice and enjoy!