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The key to broccoli-topped pizza with a pleasantly charred sweetness: break florets into small pieces, toss with olive oil, and spread them out over the whole pie.
By
J. Kenji López-Alt
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Updated February 01, 2024
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Why It Works
- Breaking up broccoli florets into small pieces allows them to release moisture and brown quickly during the short, intense baking time.
- Red onion and red pepper flakes play off the sweetness of the caramelized broccoli.
The question I have is a simple one:Why don't we see more broccoli on pizza?
Sure, we've all seen broccoli on pizza—the green, moist, steamed stuff that they throw on standard New York slices and cover up with cheese so it tastes more like a cheesy broccoli casserole-on-bread than anything else. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking broccoli the way we see thebrussels sprouts pie a la Motorino, or thekale-covered rooftop red at Paulie Gee's, crunchy, brown, and caramelized.
I'm talking broccoli with charred edges and an intensely sweet, nutty flavor. Broccoli that goes on raw and comes out barely cooked through, crunchy in the center. Now that we know how great other brassica can be on a pie, I started wondering why we don't see more cabbage-family vegetables on top of pies. So I started baking. Cauliflower works great, as does kale and even green cabbage, if you shred it before baking. But broccoli is the real winner, getting deep brown and crisp as the pie bakes.
The key is to cut it into very small pieces—florets about the size of a couple jelly beans—toss them in oil, then spread them out so that they can immediately start dehydrating as soon as they hit the oven. Using abaking steel, I can get my pies in and out of the oven in about five minutes, which is not an awful lot of time to get broccoli to cook. The small size and proximity to the broiler help in that regard.
Broccoli gets really nice and sweet on its own, but I found that accenting that with a bit of red onion and contrasting it with a pinch of red pepper flakes really boosts its flavor.
December 2012
Recipe Details
Caramelized Broccoli and Red Onion Pizza Recipe
Prep15 mins
Cook20 mins
Active15 mins
Rising Time2 hrs
Total2 hrs 35 mins
Serves4to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 recipe New York style pizza dough, divided into three balls, or three 12-ounce balls store-bought pizza dough
1 small head broccoli, cut into 1/2-inch florets (about 3 cups florets total)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 recipe pizza sauce, such as our New York style pizza sauce
1 pound grated full-fat dry mozzarella cheese (about 4 cups), very cold
Directions
At least 2 hours before baking, remove dough from refrigerator and shape into balls by gathering dough towards bottom and pinching shut. Flour well and place each one in a separate medium mixing bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise at warm room temperature until roughly doubled in volume.
Toss broccoli, onion, pepper flakes, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.
1 hour before baking, adjust oven rack with pizza steel to top position and preheat oven to 550°F (290°C). When ready to bake, turn single dough ball out onto lightly flour surface. Gently press out dough into rough 8-inch circle, leaving outer 1-inch higher than the rest. Gently stretch dough by draping over knuckles into a 12 to 14-inch circle about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer to pizza peel.
Spread approximately 2/3 cup of sauce evenly over surface of crust, leaving 1/2 to 1-inch border along edge. Evenly spread 1/3 of cheese over sauce. Spread 1/3 of broccoli and onion mixture over surface of pizza. Switch oven to broiler, then slide pizza onto baking stone and bake until crust is golden brown and puffed, and broccoli is charred in spots, 4 to 8 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, slice, and serve immediately. Repeat with remaining 2 dough balls, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese, reheating baking steel in between pies as necessary.
Special Equipment
Pizza peel, baking steel or stone
Read More
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| Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 794 | Calories |
| 31g | Fat |
| 95g | Carbs |
| 33g | Protein |
Show Full Nutrition Label
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| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 4to 6 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 794 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 31g | 40% |
| Saturated Fat 13g | 65% |
| Cholesterol 68mg | 23% |
| Sodium 1488mg | 65% |
| Total Carbohydrate 95g | 35% |
| Dietary Fiber 7g | 26% |
| Total Sugars 11g | |
| Protein 33g | |
| Vitamin C 59mg | 297% |
| Calcium 550mg | 42% |
| Iron 6mg | 34% |
| Potassium 734mg | 16% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
