Pizza with Radicchio, Arugula, Grana Padano and Roasted Shallots

Price Latimer Agah’s Salad Pizza

  • Price Latimer Agah’s Salad Pizza
  • Price Latimer Agah’s Salad Pizza
  • Price Latimer Agah’s Salad Pizza
  • Price Latimer Agah’s Salad Pizza
  • Price Latimer Agah’s Salad Pizza
  • Price Latimer Agah’s Salad Pizza
  • Price Latimer Agah’s Salad Pizza

NOTES

Try making your own dough, it makes all the difference. The squeeze of lemon on the greens is key, making this a really bright and fresh dish. You need to prep this the day before serving. 

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the dough, add flour, salt and yeast to a stand mixer. While the mixer is running, add the water and beat until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball. Set overnight in refrigerator.

Remove dough ball from refrigerator.  Let it rise for 1 ½  – 2 hours, or until it doubles in size. Cut it into 2-4 equal pieces (depending on how large you want each pizza).  To make your pizza balls, stretch one lump of  dough over top of the another, wrapping it around until you can pinch the two ends together to make a smooth ball with a tight outer “skin.” Set your ball(s) seam-side down to rest. Dust your pizza balls with flour, and store them under a damp towel, in a proofing tray, or under plastic wrap for about 1 hour at room temperature.

Pre-heat oven to 550° F, and add your pizza stone to the oven to heat (if you don’t have a stone, just add a cookie sheet to the oven).

Chop shallots thinly and toss with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt & pepper.  In a 550° F oven, roast shallots on cookie sheet for approx. 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven.

Stretch the dough by hand into a large circular shape. Brush 2 Tablespoons of olive oil on stretched pizza dough.

Add 8 oz. freshly shredded low moisture mozzarella, roasted shallots and 5 cloves minced garlic to the pizza.

Slide the pizza onto the stone. Cook until lightly brown — approx. 5-7 minutes.

While pizza is cooking, in a large bowl toss arugula with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the pizza from oven, sprinkle arugula, fresh radicchio and shaved Grana Padano on top.  Cut with pizza wheel, serve and enjoy!

RECIPE

DIFFICULTY

HARD

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SERVES

4

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PREP TIME

60 MINS

pizza dough

  • 4 
    cups 
    white flour (I recommend superfine “00” flour)
  • 2 
    tsp 
    kosher salt
  • 1/2 
    tsp 
    dry active yeast
  • 1 1/2 
    cups 
    water

Toppings

  • 10 
     
    large shallots
  • 1 
     
    lemon, juiced
  • 6 
    tbs 
    extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 
    cup 
    freshly shredded low moisture mozzarella(not a fresh mozzarella ball, but the shredded kind)
  • 5 
     
    cloves minced garlic
  • 4 
    cups 
    fresh arugula
  • 1 
    cup 
    fresh, chopped radicchio
  • 3/4 
    cup 
    shaved Grana Padano
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    salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the dough, add flour, salt and yeast to a stand mixer. While the mixer is running, add the water and beat until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball. Set overnight in refrigerator.

Remove dough ball from refrigerator.  Let it rise for 1 ½  – 2 hours, or until it doubles in size. Cut it into 2-4 equal pieces (depending on how large you want each pizza).  To make your pizza balls, stretch one lump of  dough over top of the another, wrapping it around until you can pinch the two ends together to make a smooth ball with a tight outer “skin.” Set your ball(s) seam-side down to rest. Dust your pizza balls with flour, and store them under a damp towel, in a proofing tray, or under plastic wrap for about 1 hour at room temperature.

Pre-heat oven to 550° F, and add your pizza stone to the oven to heat (if you don’t have a stone, just add a cookie sheet to the oven).

Chop shallots thinly and toss with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt & pepper.  In a 550° F oven, roast shallots on cookie sheet for approx. 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven.

Stretch the dough by hand into a large circular shape. Brush 2 Tablespoons of olive oil on stretched pizza dough.

Add 8 oz. freshly shredded low moisture mozzarella, roasted shallots and 5 cloves minced garlic to the pizza.

Slide the pizza onto the stone. Cook until lightly brown — approx. 5-7 minutes.

While pizza is cooking, in a large bowl toss arugula with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the pizza from oven, sprinkle arugula, fresh radicchio and shaved Grana Padano on top.  Cut with pizza wheel, serve and enjoy!

I am not generally  wild about pizza. Living in Brooklyn, this is unfortunate since a new upscale pizza restaurant seems to open every week in our neighborhood.  When I head to L.A., I seek out Korean food, sushi, tacos, farmer’s markets and Dim Sum; pizza and bagels are not on my radar. But, then I experienced Pizzanista! Salad Pizza, and my world turned upside down. I can say, hands down, this is the best pizza I have ever had.

Pizzanista! is in the Arts District of L.A., and is the love child of Price Latimer Agah, artist, art consultant and independent curator, and her husband Salman Agah, legendary skateboarder. Price and I share RISD as an alma mater, where we both studied photography. She has since worked for an art gallery, a furniture company, done freelance PR & graphic design, and started her own company as an art consultant and independent curator.  (And yes, she does seem to use exclusively Hermès plates, which is a CV line item in my book). All this while starting a restaurant with a cult following.

The L.A. Arts District is booming at the moment, but this husband wife team have lived in the area for 10 years. in 2010, they were looking for a way to invest in their own neighborhood, when the restaurant plan just fell serendipitously into their laps. Salman discovered an old Chinese fast food restaurant up for lease around the corner from their loft and right next door to Tony’s Saloon, a dive bar under construction to become a hip new watering hole. They had recently returned from NYC and wondered why there were so few “Pizza By the Slice” places in L.A.? And thus, recognizing that the stars had aligned in their favor, the best slice in L.A. was born.  Be warned – this is not your average Ray’s Pizza, this pie has a punk rock attitude. The logo itself is a direct reference to Sandinista!, The Clash’s fourth studio album (which has an exclamation point at the end of it). The vibe of Pizzanista! is very emphatic, as is their admiration for The Clash.

Price Latimer Agah in Her Own Words

Julia: Tell me the story of how you got your sourdough starter, and is this the secret to your success?

Price: We were educated in the art of sourdough and wild yeast cultures by our friend and mentor, Steve Samson of Sotto Restaurant. The commercial yeast that is used in most pizza dough is typically very bland and tasteless in comparison to wild yeast and lactobacilli, which give the crust a sourdough flavor.  Our specific sourdough culture is a 200-year old culture from Naples (where pizza originated).  This is definitely instrumental in setting our dough apart, plus the fact that it is made fresh, in-house, by hand each day.

Julia: Is pizza a good foundation for a marriage?

Price: Absolutely!  We both believe that food is a fundamental, pleasurable, intimate and communal experience. Cooking, eating, drinking and entertaining are an integral part of connectedness and bonding with friends and family.

Julia: How many days a week do you eat pizza?

Price: On average, 3-5.

Julia: you are a curator and art consultant as well as a Pizzauranteur (did I just coin a new term?) Do you keep those two parts of your life separate, or do you think they inform one another? This is something I think about with respect to Salad For President and my art career.

Price: There is no separation for me whatsoever.  Having been an artist and designer my whole life, and having undergone a rigorous and enlightening art school education, I simply view each project or venture with the same problem-solving perspective.  Each one is its own distinct design challenge with its own set of specific parameters. There is no difference to me in the way that I approach curating an art exhibit, building a private art collection, decorating someone’s home, painting, playing music, cooking a meal, giving a haircut, planning an event or running a restaurant.

Julia: would you consider opening a Pizzanista! in NYC? Please? Or is it really specific to L.A.? Pizzanista!

Price: Pizzanista! is not necessarily specific to L.A., though we do derive a lot of our inspiration from California culture.  We are most interested in targeting underserved markets. New York is pretty heavily saturated with amazing pizza, but anything can happen and we’d be into the idea if the right opportunity arose!

Julia: your husband Salman is a pro skateboarder. Do skateboarding and pizza go hand-in-hand?

Price: Without a doubt!  Most of my skater friends are usually trying to grab something quick, easy and inexpensive, so pizza fits that bill.  But, I’m pretty sure the main reason is because pizza is an excellent accompaniment to beer.