New Haven White Clam Pizza
Pizza · Pizza Oven · Seafood · American
New Haven’s famous pie: clams, garlic, oregano, grated Pecorino and olive oil on a charred crust — no tomato, no mozzarella.
Untested: I have not cooked this one yet — the pizza oven has not been bought. It is here for the Pizza Ovens dive, and it is adapted from the source named in the Notes.
Ingredients
- 1 dough ball, 250 g (12-inch) or 330 g (16-inch)
- 12 clams (fresh, frozen or canned)
- 2–3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Pinch of dried oregano
- Pecorino Romano, freshly grated, to taste
- Olive oil, to drizzle
- Lemon wedges
Directions
- Prepare the clams. Clean and cook fresh clams first; thaw frozen, pre-cooked ones; drain canned. Shuck them, tear off the membrane, and leave them whole or halved.
- Heat the oven until the stone reads about 700 °F — cooler than for a Neapolitan pizza.
- Top. Stretch the dough. Scatter the clams, then the garlic, a good shake of oregano, grated Pecorino and a drizzle of oil.
- Bake 2–3 minutes, turning about every 30 seconds.
- Finish with more Pecorino and serve with lemon.
Notes
Source Adapted from Chris Cowan, “New Haven Style White Clam Pizza,” on Ooni’s recipe pages. Ooni does not give amounts for the Pecorino or the oil.
History Frank Pepe opened his New Haven pizzeria in 1925, in a coal-fired oven; by the company’s account the white clam pizza dates from 1964. New Haven’s apizza is still a coal-oven style.
Temperatures are for the oven floor (stone), read with an infrared thermometer. A pizza oven’s built-in gauge reads the air, which runs much hotter.
The Pizza Ovens dive on the Food site covers the oven, the fire and the dough in depth.