Escarole-Stuffed Pizza is among my top 10 favorite foods ever! Don't miss this family recipe for authentic Italian Pizza di Scarola from Naples! This will be the best double-crust pizza of your life. It features olives, garlic, olive oil and Romano cheese.
Attention please: I'm about to share one of the greatest recipes of my life with you. Read everything carefully, look at all the step-by-step photos and add the ingredients to your grocery list as soon as possible.
I want you to experience this "scarola pizza," as my family calls it. Scarola means escarole in Italian. We pronounce it the Neapolitan way, which sounds like "shkah-ROLL-ah."
Consider it a gift from me to celebrate Cooking with Mamma C's sixth anniversary (June 1).
Thanks for being here!
Ingredients for escarole-stuffed pizza
If you're not familiar with escarole, it looks like leafy green lettuce and is a member of the endive family. Look for it next to the heads of lettuce at the grocery store, and ask a produce worker to help you find it, if needed.
You'll need two pounds of pizza dough to make the double crust. You can buy it from your favorite pizza place or make one batch of this pizza dough recipe, which we use all the time. Plan ahead!
Cleaning and cooking the escarole
Escarole can have lots of dirt tucked inside each bunch. No worries though.
I'm going to show you an easy method Mom taught me to clean it. Then, we'll go over parboiling and sautéeing it. This is an overview, but full instructions are included in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Trim off the root end and any discolored leaves. Cut the bunch into three sections (or four, if the bunch is long).
- Place the cut escarole in a clean sink filled halfway with cold water. Swirl the leaves around. The dirt will sink to the bottom.
- Scoop out the cleaned escarole and place it in a drainer while you wait for a tall pot of water to boil.
- Add the escarole to the rapidly boiling water. When it comes to a boil again, let the greens cook for two minutes.
- Drain them well so they won't splash when they get sautéed. I use a salad spinner (affiliate link).
- Cook thinly sliced garlic in olive oil for a minute or so in a 12-inch frying pan.
- Add the escarole and stir it around to coat it with the olive oil. Sauté the vegetables for a couple minutes, then drain them.
Assembling the pizza pie
- Use about â…” of the dough for the bottom crust. Press it evenly into a greased, 12-inch pizza pan (affiliate link).
- Combine the cooked escarole and garlic with sliced black olives and little pieces of Romano.
- Place the vegetable filling onto the dough, leaving some room around the edges.
- Use the remaining dough to cover the pizza, pulling and stretching as needed.
- Tuck the top dough under the edges of the bottom crust and press to seal the pizza closed.
Tips to prevent a soggy bottom crust
I would have shared this escarole pie sooner, but I had to figure out a way to prevent the bottom crust from getting soggy from those delicious greens sautéed in oil. Mom once tried baking the bottom crust by itself for a bit, but found the double-crust pizza would separate later during baking.
After some testing (and stuffing our faces), here's what works:
- Drain the escarole well after sautéing it. It helps to pat it with paper towels to absorb excess oil, but leave some for flavor.
- Use more dough for the bottom crust than the top crust. You'll need about 19 ounces for the bottom and 13 ounces for the top.
- Bake the assembled pizza for 30 minutes (instead of 25). Loosely cover it with foil during the last five minutes of baking, so the top crust won't burn while the bottom has the chance to brown more.
How to serve it
You can serve this as a vegetarian main dish by slicing this into eight generous triangles. The four of us each enjoy a slice for dinner, then eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.
You also could cut smaller slices to serve this as an appetizer or side dish.
Or make it a pizza night and serve it with white clam pizza and this sweet banana pizza for dessert!
Store leftovers, covered in the refrigerator, for up to five days.
Can you use a different pan?
I've never tried it, but Mom says you also could make this in a 9x13 pan. I recall devouring squares of this pizza at parties when I was growing up. Speaking of which, don't miss these 63 Italian Appetizer Recipes!
Go, make it!
Friends, this pizza di scarola is legendary in my family! Nonna's recipe was never documented, until now.
So, this is a gift for all of us.
I can't wait for you to try it! Please be sure to leave a comment and a rating when you do.
Enjoy!
More Italian recipes to enjoy
- Italian Escarole Soup with Beans
- Ricotta-Spinach Pie
- Italian Zucchini Bake
- Rapini (Broccoli Rabe) with Garlic
- Parmesan Focaccia with Rosemary
- Caponatina (Eggplant Caponata)
- 33 Italian Side Dishes (Contorni)
(Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from Mom, who learned to make this from Nonna.)
Escarole-Stuffed Pizza (Pizza di Scarola)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pizza dough (one batch of Mamma C's pizza dough)
- 1 ½ pounds escarole (from 2 large bunches or 2 ½ bunches if small)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 ounces Romano cheese (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- â…› teaspoon pepper
- 5 ounces sliced black olives (two (2.5 oz.) cans
Instructions
- Make sure you have 2 pounds of pizza dough ready to use before beginning this recipe. (See notes.)
- Fill a tall (8-quart) pot â…” full with hot water (enough to cover the escarole you will add later). Place the pot over high heat on the stove and add a tablespoon of salt. Cover the pot so it can come to a boil.
- Prepare to clean the escarole in your sink. Clean your sink and place a stopper in the drain. Fill half the sink with cold water.
- Place one bunch of unwashed escarole at a time horizontally on your cutting board. Cut off the root end and any discolored parts of the leaves. Cut the bunch into three equal sections (or 4 if the bunch is large) and transfer the cut escarole to the sink of water. Repeat with the rest of the escarole. (Wash off your knife and cutting board afterward.)
- Swirl the escarole in the sink with your hands a bit. The dirt will fall to the bottom of the sink. Remove the cleaned escarole with your hands or a slotted spoon and transfer it to a drainer or bowl while you wait for the pot to boil. Drain and rinse the sink.
- While the pot of water is still heating up, you can peel and slice the garlic into thin slices. Cut the Romano cheese into little chunks (about 1-inch rectangles).
- When the water is boiling rapidly, add the cleaned escarole to the pot and give it a stir. When the pot boils again, let the escarole cook for another 1 or 2 minutes. Drain the escarole in a colander in the sink.
- Make sure your top oven rack is positioned in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a 12-inch round pizza pan with cooking spray.
- If you have a salad spinner, use it to remove excess water from the boiled escarole. Otherwise, let the escarole sit in the drainer and pat the escarole dry with paper towels so it won't splash when it gets added to the pan of oil in the next step.
- Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a 12-inch frying pan and place it over medium-high heat. Add the garlic slices and cook them for about a minute, being careful not to let them burn. Add the parboiled escarole to the pan and stir to coat the greens with the oil. Add the salt and pepper. Saute the escarole for a couple minutes, stirring as needed to allow it to get the flavor of the garlic and oil. Turn off the heat.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the escarole and garlic to a colander in the sink to drain.
- Add the Romano pieces to a large mixing bowl. Drain the olive slices (I use a fine-mesh strainer.) Pat the olives dry with paper towels and add them to the mixing bowl.
- Carefully pat the escarole with paper towels to absorb excess liquid. You want to keep some oil for flavor, but you don't want the greens dripping wet, or they will make the pizza crust soggy.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the escarole mixture to the large mixing bowl. Stir to combine the greens with the cheese and olives.
- Place two pounds of pizza dough on a floured work surface. Use a straight-edged knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into two parts -- you will need about 19 ounces of dough for the bottom crust and about 13 ounces for the top crust. (Weigh the sections if you have a scale, or use about â…” of the dough for the bottom and â…“ for the top.)
- Shape the larger section of dough into a round disk to fit your pizza pan. (It helps to grasp the dough by the edges, hold it up, and let it stretch out. Rotate the dough a bit and continue, pressing the dough with your fingers in the thick spots to thin it out.) Place the dough in your greased pan and pull and press it evenly into place, making sure there are no holes. You can leave the edges of the dough circle a little thicker than the middle.
- Transfer the escarole mixture onto the dough in the pan. Spread the vegetables on the center of the dough, leaving about 1 ½ inches of dough showing around the edges.
- Shape the other portion of dough into a round disk that will fit your pan, as before. Place the dough on top of the escarole mixture and pull and press it as needed to completely cover the vegetables and reach the edges of the bottom crust. Tuck the edges of the top crust over and under the edges of the bottom crust and press gently to seal the pizza closed.
- Bake at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes on the rack positioned in the center of your oven. Start with the pizza uncovered, and after 25 minutes, loosely cover it with foil for the last five minutes of baking. This will allow the bottom crust to brown properly while ensuring the top crust doesn't get too dark. (If your oven runs extra hot, you will need to cut down the baking time by a few minutes.)
- Let the escarole pizza rest in the pan for at least 10 minutes before slicing it. It tastes best when it's not piping hot. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to five days. Reheat slices in the microwave.
Video
Notes
- Recipe time does not include making the pizza dough. You can buy it from a local pizza place, if you wish.
- If you don't have a 12-inch round pizza pan, you should be able to make this in a 9x13 pan.
Tomasso Albano says
Ciao,
My Nonna made many stuffed pizza types called (Tiele)
Significant to Gaeta , Italy.
All delicioso!
Tomasso
Mamma C says
Hi Tomasso - I'm sure they were all delicious! I hope you try this recipe.
Helen says
Andrea, I am so grateful for this recipe. My Mom made us escarole sandwiches
for lunch and they were the best lunch ever. I have changed one thing and that
is I no longer cook it in the water, I place the scarole in the cast iron fry pan with
olive oi and garlic. The pan is overflowing with leaves but after the lid is on for
about 5 minutes or so it is ready. If I need or want more liquid I add white wine
or a bit of stock and I have the amount I need. My cousins could not believe I
cooked it this way but have since become a fan. I am out of paper but will copy
all of these yummies, Love you and your amazing Italian recipes. Yum
Mamma C says
Hi Helen - It's always nice to hear from you! Thanks for sharing your method of cooking the escarole. I hope you enjoy the Pizza di Scarola!
Sophie Goel says
What a great way to change up your average pizza night. Will definitely be trying this recipe soon!
Mamma C says
Hi Sophie - I hope you enjoy it!
Mirlene says
This looks great. Great idea for a busy weekend.
Mamma C says
Hi Mirlene - Thank you! It's always a hit.
Lisa | Garlic & Zest says
This is such an inventive way to use escarole. I love it in soups, stews and braises, but this stuffed pizza is so clever. The olives and romano cheese are inspired too! Great vegetarian dinner!
Mamma C says
Hi Lisa - It's wonderful as a vegetarian dinner! Thank you.
madelon Sarti says
My mother in law made it with garlic and anchovies which gave it a nice salty taste
Mamma C says
Hi Madelon - Oh, I bet!
Ashley says
This looks phenomenal! Can't wait to try it this weekend!
Mamma C says
Thanks, Ashley!
Tawnie Kroll says
We do Friday night pizzas and will make this! Thank you!
Mamma C says
Hi Tawnie - I hope you love this!
Jessica Formicola says
It's pizza night in our house tonight and I can't wait to try this stuffed version! It looks incredible!
Mamma C says
Hi Jessica - I hope you love this as much as we do!
Patricia Gigliati Eaton says
my grandmother and mom made this but instead of garlic she used a few heads of scallions and sauteed the escarole with the scallions, black olives in evoo salt and pepper and when done would take anchovies in oil and cook them into the vegetables. then drained it before putting it onto the dough. It was delicious and the next day even better!
Mamma C says
Hi Patricia - It's interesting to hear about different variations!