VIEW SLIDESHOW: Top This: Fior di Zucca (à la Nicoletta)
Pluck those zucchini blossoms from your garden (or from the booth at your local farmers market), for they make a stellar pizza topping.
Ben Lee, Executive Chef and head pizzaiolo at Nicoletta—Michael White's New York City ode to Midwestern pizza—uses the tender, yellow-orange blossoms to top the Fior di Zucca pie (you guessed right, Fior di Zucca means zucchini blossom in Italian). The pizza features the blossoms along with grated zucchini, garlicky herb pesto, marinated tomatoes and a double-dose of mozzarella, making this summer-certified cheesy creation a must for at-home pizzaioli.
What You'll Need (for one pizza)
- 1 dough portion (Nicoletta's unique dough stylistically falls somewhere between Sicilian, New York, and Midwestern. Here's a Pizza Lab primer on New York-style and Sicilian-style dough.)
- Zucchini blossoms
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic
- Parmesan cheese, grated
- Dried oregano
- Whole milk mozzarella, shredded*
- Zucchini, coarsely grated
- Small balls of Fior di Latte
- Plum or Jersey tomatoes, diced**
- Basil-parsley pesto (use this simple recipe, omitting the nuts and cheese)
- Granulated garlic
- Heavy cream
- Sour cream
- Mascarpone
- Salt
*At Nicoletta, they proudly use Grande brand mozz, from Wisconsin.
**Marinate the diced tomatoes in olive oil, dried oregano, and a smashed clove of garlic for one hour.
Nicoletta
160 Second Ave, New York NY 10003 (map)
212-432-1600; nicolettanyc.com
About the author: Originally from Los Angeles, Erin Mosbaugh writes Je Blague, where she captures her food adventures in NYC and beyond. Erin also writes dining and nightlife features for Robb Report's New York City.