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Bon Appétit

Charred Sun Gold Tomato and Fennel Pizza

Tomato and Fennel Pizza on wooden pizza peel
Photograph by Joyce Lee, food styling by Brandon Gray, prop styling by Chloe Kirk

This pizza is a celebration of fennel from Brandon Gray, the chef at Los Angeles pizza pop-up Brandoni Pepperoni. Thinly sliced fresh fennel adorns the pie prebake—along with blistered Sun Gold tomatoes, spicy sliced Calabrian chiles, and creamy fresh mozzarella cheese. Once cooked it’s topped with soft confit garlic, fennel fronds, and fennel pollen for an extra hit of the vegetable’s anise flavor.

Making confit garlic is an extra step that really takes this pizza to the next level. Simply cook a few sliced cloves in enough olive oil to cover over very gentle heat; they’ll lose all their tough bite in about 20 minutes and instead be soft and mellow to the taste. Don’t toss the leftover oil after you fish out the cloves—it’s deeply flavorful and great in salad dressing (or for blistering the tomatoes for this very pizza).

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What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes one 12" pizza

Ingredients

4

large garlic cloves, cut lengthwise into thirds

2

Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil; plus 2 tsp. if using conventional oven; plus more

1¼

cups Sun Gold or cherry tomatoes

Kosher salt

½

small fennel bulb, fronds reserved, very thinly sliced

Freshly ground black pepper

1

ball All-Purpose Pizza Dough or 12 oz. store-bought pizza dough, room temperature

3

oz. fresh mozzarella, torn

3

Tbsp. thinly sliced drained oil-packed Calabrian chiles or ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

All-purpose flour (for dusting; if using pizza oven)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place 4 large garlic cloves, cut lengthwise into thirds, in a small saucepan; pour in extra-virgin olive oil to cover. Set pan over low heat and cook until garlic is softened and lightly golden, 20–30 minutes. Drain garlic in a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; reserve oil for another use. Set garlic confit aside.

    Step 2

    Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Cook 1¼ cups Sun Gold or cherry tomatoes, undisturbed, until blistered, about 5 minutes. Season with kosher salt and cook, tossing often, until tomatoes begin to burst and release their juices, about 1 minute. Set aside.

    Step 3

    Toss ½ small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced, with a drizzle of oil in a small bowl; season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

    Step 4

    If using a conventional oven: Heat broiler. Heat 2 tsp. extra-virgin oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium. Using lightly oiled hands, flatten  1 ball All-Purpose Pizza Dough or 12 oz. store-bought pizza dough, room temperature and gently stretch over the backs of your hands to create a 12" round. Transfer to skillet, stretching to edges of pan if needed, and cook until bottom is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to oven and broil until crust is beginning to char in spots, about 2 minutes.

    Step 5

    Carefully remove skillet from oven (handle will be hot!). Top pizza with 3 oz. fresh mozzarella, torn, fennel, 3 Tbsp. thinly sliced drained oil-packed Calabrian chiles or ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, and reserved tomatoes; season with salt. Return to oven and continue to broil until cheese is melted and crust is charred in spots, about 1 minute longer.

    Step 6

    If using a pizza oven: Preheat to high. Lightly flour your hands and a pizza peel. Working from the center outward, stretch out dough on peel to a 12" round. Top with 3 oz. fresh mozzarella, torn, fennel, 3 Tbsp. thinly sliced drained oil-packed Calabrian chiles or ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, and reserved tomatoes; season with salt. Slide pizza into pizza oven and cook, rotating occasionally, until cheese is melted and crust is charred in spots, 2–3 minutes.

    Step 7

    Top pizza with reserved garlic confit. Scatter some fennel fronds over and season with pepper.

    Do Ahead: Garlic confit can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

Explore Bon AppétitMainDinnerBakingPizzaFennelVegetableMozzarellaCheeseCherry TomatoTomatoCalabrian ChileChileGarlicVegetarianNut-Free
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  • This is my all time favorite pizza recipe. And now even when I'm not making this exact pizza, I always use cherry tomatoes like this as pizza sauce.

    • KDD

    • Anchorage, Alaska

    • 10/10/2023

  • Let’s see, I will use the sandwich method for this review. Best toppings ever. Worst dough ever. Best toppings ever. Good thing I have a pizza dough quiver.

    • Overwhelmed By Summer Veg

    • West of Central Wyoming

    • 8/31/2023

  • Can’t wait to try this…

    • Melanie Tibbets

    • East Hampton Long Island NY

    • 8/29/2022