Pizza Quattro Stagioni, a pizza that represents the four seasons and the ingredients that are known in Italy for those seasons. A beautiful way to pay homage to a food passionate culture dedicated to the freshness and simplicity of Italian cooking as a result in a most incredible textural and flavorful experience!
Song of the day: "Over the Hills and Far Away" by Led Zeppelin.
Pizza Quattro Stagioni (Four Seasons Pizza) is a variety of pizza in Italian cuisine that is divided in four sections and prepared with diverse ingredients likewise symbolizing the four seasons of the year. A delicious crispy thin crust beautifully colored with a rich San Marzano tomato sauce and that lovely array of ingredients nestled in gooey fresh melted mozzarella. Only one thing to say, YUMMY!
Pizza Pizza!
We usually have pizza every week and this week is no different, hence why it is one of our favorite foods. It is Saturday and a perfect time to make some pizza dough and enjoy some in-home cooking! This is also a "family time" friendly recipe!
Let's get that oven fired up and get to making this Pizza Quatro Stagioni, an exceptionally popular pizza in Italy that is known as "classic", "famous", "renown", Italian Pizza!
Quatro Stagioni 101
I wanted to talk a bit about the ingredients and the seasons. So this pizza has four sections because it signifies the four seasons. Here are the stars of the show:
- Artichokes-spring
- Tomato and basil- summer
- Mushrooms- fall
- Olives and Prosciutto cotto-winter
For the love of pizza dough
The pizza dough is our go to dough recipe, however, I have to say I sure do miss my dough whisperer Nicoletta. She just has the hands to make dough! It will probably be fine, might just have to channel Nicoletta's dough making energy!
I am an organized cook. Gathering all the ingredients and getting them ready so I am not wasting time looking for things is important to me as I can really channel my energy into the recipe. The fun is about to begin and I am going to go in hands and all and stretch that dough.
This may sound strange but the aroma of pizza dough is something I love. Firstly that yeasty aroma and secondly the glutenous richness, to me this says delicious pizza crust all the way!
Tips and more tips
A good idea is to oil the pizza pan. You can do this on the pizza stone, however, you have to work quickly and put lots of cornmeal on the paddle so the crust will slide off and onto the stone. Today I am using a pan oiled along with my hands nicely moistened with extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil.
Another good tip is to puree the San Marzano tomatoes. I use the canned Italian ones that say D.O.P. meaning it is really and authentically Italian! If you have your own from your garden canned and preserved then go for it.
Work that dough!
The secret is to first shape the dough ball into a flat round then into the pan it goes. Start in the center and press and stretch the dough to the outside of the pan. You may have to do it a few times as the dough tends to want to shrink back. You may get a hole just gather some dough and press to seal the hole. Now that the dough is completely stretched, it is time to assemble the pizza!
Stages of making a Quattro Stagioni Pizza
- Make the dough and let it rise.
- Stretch the dough.
- Spread the sauce all over the pizza in circular motions leaving a nice 1 cm border on the outer edge.
- On goes the fresh mozzarella.
- Next, the four sections: mushrooms, olives, prosciutto cotto, and artichokes.
- Some fresh basil leaves for garnish.
- To finish a drizzle of olive oil.
- Finally, into the oven it goes!
One last look before it goes in......
I can just hear a few of you asking for another look at the pizza and topping before it goes into the oven. Okay, photo shot!
Oh, I forgot to tell you, pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. A good hot oven is a key to a deliciously crisp pizza!
Wow, that looks so good and I am starving. Just can't help myself, sorry diving right in!
Which piece first?
I think I will go for the winter, why because it is winter and then going to work myself through the seasons. Oooooh that crispy oh so flavorful crust and the richness of the tomato sauce has me singing the mmmmmmmmm. ..............! The prosciutto cotto is beautiful, sweet, crunchy on the edges and has that unmistakable Italian ham flavor!
Spring is coming!
Naturally, I would go for spring next as it is truly the season that is almost upon us. I love the artichokes with their briny olive oil backdrop and the juiciness in between the folds of this flowery vegetable. It pairs well with the velvety creamy smoothness of the mozzarella, and the foundation of the tomato sauce and wonderful thin crust!
Aaaaah Summer!
I truly love summer, one of my most favorite times of the year. warm temperatures, lots of sunshine and very long periods of daylight. I also remember the smell of the tomatoes and basil growing in my parents' garden. If we are blessed with a warm summer season, tomatoes mature well and we are honored with the sweetest aromatic delicious tomatoes and fragrant basil a natural anti-depressant I might add!
This is why summer is all over this pizza tomato and basil all the way! We love it when it is here, we are sad when it leaves us in the fall, we dream about it when winter is over us, and are excited about its arrival at the end of spring!
Fall...
Mushrooms. Did I tell you I adore mushrooms and on this pizza they are stupendous? They are also earthy and bold, very meaty, and grace the mozzarella beautifully. I love how when you bite into the mushroom they just ooze this flavor town juiciness and my taste buds are singing let me tell you. However the sauce and the crust are not lost in the mix, it is truly an equal paralleled opportunity for each to shine!
Back to the beginning and it's winter again, ugh!
Winter here in Canada can be harsh, especially this year, today a bombing -36 degrees C. The good thing is we have these amazing things like olives to brighten our day. I have to confess I am an olive-aholic. I love the brine, the saltiness and that rich oily pungent profile of this amazing plump creation of the earth! Give me some rustic Italian bread and a handful of olives and I am a happy camper! On this pizza, they are an awakening of the senses from their acidic aroma to the richness that they possess.
Final thoughts
I truly enjoyed this pizza, I sat with myself and each section or season if you may and was transported through memory and sensory as I bit into each one of these pizza slices.
This is a great pizza because it can satisfy the meat person, the veggie person and the adventurous one all in one crust.
It is Saturday and here it is still freezing cold. Put on your favorite movie, get those blankets and enjoy a wonderful heart-felt pizza night!
Cheers!
PrintPizza Quattro Stagioni
Pizza Quattro Stagioni (Four Seasons Pizza) is a variety of pizza in Italian cuisine that is divided in four sections and prepared with diverse ingredients signifying the seasons of the year. A delicious crispy thin crust beautifully colored with a rich San Marzano tomato sauce and that lovely array of ingredients nestled in gooey fresh melted mozzarella. Only one thing to say, YUMMY!
- Prep Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2
- Category: Pizza
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
Pizza Dough:
- 500 g farina 00 (or all-purpose, or better, a mix of the two)
- 300 ml water, at room temperature
- 5 g fresh yeast (2 g dried yeast)
- pinch of sugar
- 35 g extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g sea salt
Tomato sauce:
- 1 small can of stewed D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes pureed
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin cold pressed olive oil
- Pinch of dried oregano
- A dash of salt and pepper
Topping:
- 250 g fresh Fior di latte mozzarella, cut up
- 10-12 kalamata olives pitted and halved
- 3 canned artichoke hearts drained and quartered
- 1 slice of prosciutto cotto (cooked ham)
- 2-3 brown button top mushroom cleaned washed and sliced thin
- A few leaves of fresh basil
- a drizzle of e.v.o. oil
Instructions
Pizza dough:
- In a small bowl, add half of the water, the fresh yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Let dissolve.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, the water/yeast mixture and start mixing on low. Add the salt, then slowly add the rest of the water, and keep mixing. Lastly, slowly, add the oil and mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the food processor and starts to form a ball.
- Take it out of the food processor and put it onto a floured work surface. Knead it for a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Form it into a ball, cover it with a bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Once rested, give the dough a small fold: stretch the ends to form a rectangle, take the outer ends and fold into the center, turn it 90 degrees and do the same. Then, form it back into a ball. Transfer the ball of dough into a bowl, cover with cling wrap (better if you oil the plastic so it doesn't stick to the dough when it rises).
- Transfer the bowl to the oven (turned off) with the light on and let it rest for a few hours (2-3) until doubled in size.
- When the dough is ready, divide into 3 even pieces and take each piece and shape into a circle using your hands. Oil a 12-inch round pizza pan and stretch dough until it fills the pan with a nice border. Repeat this with the other dough and set pizza crusts aside.
Tomato sauce:
- Place pureed tomato into a bowl and spoon in olive oil, and sprinkle in oregano salt and pepper.
- Taste for seasoning and set aside.
Assembly:
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Take stretched pizza dough and spoon some tomato sauce on top, and in circular motion spread the sauce to the outside edges of the dough leaving a nice 1 cm border.
- Place the mozzarella on top of the sauce evenly distributing it throughout.
- Next place mushrooms on a quarter of the pizza, secondly followed by the artichokes on another quarter, thirdly the prosciutto cotto, and finally, the olives and you have 4 sections each different on the pizza.
- Break up the fresh basil leaves and place evenly on pizza and finish with a drizzle of e.v.o. oil.
- Place in middle rack of the oven and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes watching it closely to make sure the crust is not burning underneath.
- Take the pizza out of the oven and out of the pan and cut it into the four sections. If you want you can cut the quarters in half and you will have eight smaller pieces.
- Ready to serve.
Enjoy!
Notes
If you don't want to tackle the dough some Italian stores offer fresh pizza dough. I have even used Naan to make pizza, however, this is a traditional Italian pizza and a good dough is imperative!
You can use whatever mushroom you please, and also if you can't find the canned artichoke hearts use the marinated ones just let the oil drain off, or your pizza will be too greasy!
If you are using a pizza stone do not use any oil, use flour stretch the dough, and place it on a board or paddle with some cornmeal sprinkled on so the pizza can slide off easily onto the stone for cooking.
The cooking time will be less on a very hot pizza stone so watch it carefully.
Prep time includes the making and proofing time for the pizza dough.
The dough recipe makes 3 pizzas if you want to create your own or else wrap them in plastic wrap and then in a freezer tight bag and freeze them. When going to use them put the frozen balls into a bowl and cover them with a cloth and place them in a warm spot. Best to do this in the morning so it has a chance to thaw and then rise.
When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.
Colleen says
We love our pizza nights as well, and since I can never decide on just one topping, I always make two pizzas, which is really too much for the two of us. So this idea is perfect. Four pizzas in one, so we don't have to choose. I love the seasonal theme too!
Thank you Colleen, yes it definitely is a pizza that offers many choices and lLove that it celebrates the seasons!
Have a wonderful week!
Ciao Loreto!
marilyn @family food around the clock says
so yummy! I for such we try your dough. thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you so glad you like it! Such a wonderful pizza with lots of flavor and texture!
Cheers!
Loreto
Denise@urbnspice says
There is nothing like a homemade pizza, is there, Loreto? It seems to me from looking at your photographs that you have picked up many great pizza dough making and shaping skills from watching Nicoletta - as always your photographs and recipes make me want to jump into the kitchen and start cooking. Thank you both for always inspiring me. By the way, I am so lucky to actually have some San Marzano tomatoes that I canned this summer from a wonderful Italian gentleman after a visit to his popular Italian winery in Naramata. They are indeed the best tomatoes ever and worthy of your wonderful pizza recipe.
Hi Denise, as always thoroughly enjoyed your comment. I am so grateful for your kind words and also your passion for food. That is incredible that you received some wonderful San Marzano tomatoes from an Italian. Sure to be sweet and just packed with flavor. Just what this pizza needs as a laying ground of all those incredible ingredients. And Yes there is nothing like homemade anything. You know what went into it and infuse it with the utmost love and kindness guaranteeing no tum,my aches, lol.
Thanks again so enjoy your words!
Cheers!
Loreto