Pizza Marinara

The oldest Neapolitan pizza type: tomato, garlic, oregano and olive oil, and no cheese. Two tricks keep it from burning — the garlic sits in oil, and the basil soaks in salted water.

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)
• 1 (400 g / 14-oz) can San Marzano plum tomatoes
• Fine sea salt: ½ teaspoon for the basil water, plus a generous pinch for the tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic, sliced very thin
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus a swirl to finish
• About 8 fresh basil leaves
• ½ tablespoon dried oregano
• Black pepper, optional

Directions

1. Heat the oven until the stone reads about 840 °F.
2. Garlic. Put the thin garlic slices in a ramekin and cover with the tablespoon of oil.
3. Basil. Dissolve ½ teaspoon salt in a little cold water and submerge the basil leaves.
4. Sauce. Crush the tomatoes by hand with a generous pinch of salt into a chunky sauce — wetter than usual, since there is no cheese.
5. Top. Stretch the dough to 12 or 16 inches on a floured peel. Spread 5–6 tablespoons of sauce. Scatter the garlic, then the basil shaken dry. Crush the oregano between your palms over the centre, and finish with a swirl of oil and pepper if you like.
6. Bake 1–2 minutes, turning regularly.

Notes

Source Adapted from Chris Cowan, “Marinara Pizza,” on Ooni’s recipe pages (stone 842 °F / 450 °C), crediting the method to a pizzaiolo named Julian.

Why the tricks Oil keeps the garlic slices apart and stops them burning “acrid”; the salted water keeps the basil from scorching.

AVPN quantities Up to 100 g tomato, 6–8 g oil, 1 clove garlic (about 3 g), and 0.5 g oregano per pizza.

History Naples in the 1850s–60s already ate garlic-and-oil pizza as its commonest kind — then without tomato. The popular “fishermen’s pizza” story behind the name could not be sourced.

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.