Pimiento is the Spanish word for a red, heart-shaped sweet pepper. Most of Spain’s crop is fire-roasted and either dried and ground into paprika, or stuffed into martini olives. On this olive-lover’s pizza, pimientos add color to a savory assortment of green and black olives.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup walnut pieces, toasted (page 181)
- 1 ball prepared pizza dough, at room temperature
- ¼ cup uncooked grits or polenta, for rolling the dough
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup Tuscan Red Sauce (page 159) or Crushed Tomato Sauce (page 160)
- 1½ cups grated manchego cheese
- 10 Niçoise olives, pitted
- 10 Kalamata olives, pitted
- 10 picholine olives, pitted
- 10 Cerignola olives, pitted
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced and separated into rings
- ¼ cup pimientos or roasted red bell peppers, diced
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated with a Microplane or zester
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
Knead the walnuts into the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.
Preheat the grill, roll out and shape the dough, and grill the first side per the master instructions on page 11 for gas or page 14 for charcoal. Use tongs to transfer it to a peel or rimless baking sheet. Flip the crust to reveal the grilled side.
Spread the entire surface with the sauce. Sprinkle with the cheese and top with the olives, shallot rings, and pimientos.
Finish grilling the pizza per the master instructions.
Remove from the grill, sprinkle with the lemon zest, and season with salt and pepper. Slice and serve immediately.
