Stovetop skillet pizza

No oven? No problem. Homemade pizza can still be had with a skillet, on the stovetop or using a camping stove.

Credit: Voyageur Press / Will Taylor

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

The key to this recipe is mise en place — that is, having everything in place before you begin to top the pizza. The tomatoes should be sliced, the prosciutto torn, the corn shucked, and the cheese shredded so that your pie is ready for assembly as soon as you flip the dough in the pan. This allows you to work quickly, keeps the kitchen tidy, and saves the dough from scorching. A cast-iron pan is preferable for its heat-retaining qualities, but any heavy-bottom 12-inch (30 centimetre) skillet will work for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) store-bought pizza dough  (or try this SBS recipe for Mauro’s perfect pizza dough)
• Olive oil spray
• ⅔ cup (150 g) store-bought pesto
• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced (about 1/2 pound/226 g)
• 2 thin slices prosciutto, torn into slivers
• 1 ear corn, shucked and kernels removed
• ½ cup (56 g) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 oz (113 g) goat cheese, cut into small pieces

Instructions

Bring the chilled pizza dough to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and lightly spray the surface with oil. Divide the dough in half and shape into 2 smooth balls. Working with the first ball of dough, flatten and stretch it into a 10-inch (25-cm) round. Place the dough in the skillet and cook until bubbles begin to form on the surface and the bottom is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Lightly spray the top of the crust with oil and turn it over.

Working quickly, spread half the pesto evenly over the crust, followed by half each of the tomatoes, prosciutto, corn, mozzarella, and goat cheese. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook until the bottom is crisp and browned, the mozzarella is melted, and all the ingredients are warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. If the bottom is browning rapidly but the cheese isn’t melted yet, reduce the heat further to prevent the crust from burning.

Repeat the process to make the second pizza.

Note

• The secret to a successful skillet pizza is making sure your toppings are fully cooked or do not need to be cooked before adding them. Sauté, steam, or grill them ahead of time, as the residual heat from the stove or grill only serves to melt the cheese and warm the toppings. That said, good choices for toppings include pepperoni (of course!), leftover cooked steak or chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms, grilled summer squash, raw spinach, raw avocado, raw bell peppers, marinated roasted red bell peppers, and marinated artichoke hearts.

Recipe from The New Camp Cookbook: Gourmet grub for campers, road trippers and adventurers by Linda Ly, photographs by Will Taylor (Voyageur Press/Quarto Group, hb, $29.99). Read more of Linda's camping tips, fire building instructions and recipes here. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

The key to this recipe is mise en place — that is, having everything in place before you begin to top the pizza. The tomatoes should be sliced, the prosciutto torn, the corn shucked, and the cheese shredded so that your pie is ready for assembly as soon as you flip the dough in the pan. This allows you to work quickly, keeps the kitchen tidy, and saves the dough from scorching. A cast-iron pan is preferable for its heat-retaining qualities, but any heavy-bottom 12-inch (30 centimetre) skillet will work for this recipe.