Mediterranean Anchovy Pizza — a delicious combination of jarred anchovy fillets, black olives, Italian tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and a sprinkle of dried oregano. This quick and easy Sicilian-style pizza ( similar to Pizza Napoletana) can be made in just 30 minutes, especially when using premade (or overnight homemade) dough. Pizza can be prepared on the oven, or pizza oven as well.
Let me share a quick and incredibly delicious Mediterranean pizza recipe featuring anchovy fillets, olives, and rich tomato sauce, all topped with creamy mozzarella. This easy-to-make pizza will transport you straight to the shores of the Mediterranean. It’s very similar to the famous Pizza Napoli (or Pizza Napoletana), which traditionally uses capers instead of olives. Some also refer to it as Pizza Romana, a variation that originated in Rome and is now enjoyed throughout Italy. Whatever you call it, this pizza is bursting with flavor — and couldn’t be easier to prepare.
TRY my recipe for Italian Tomato Sauce that can also be used for pizza.
Behind the Bites:
Anchovies have been a cornerstone of Italian cuisine probably since ancient Rome. Throughout the ages, anchovies remained important, especially in coastal regions like Liguria, Campania, and Sicily, thanks to their ability to be salt-cured for preservation — a key food source during Lent when meat was forbidden (but fish was allowed in some of the days). By the 17th century, anchovies had found their way into refined Italian dishes, while in Naples and Sicily they became essential to the rich, savory flavors of traditional pizza and pasta sauces.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Dough: all purpose flour, water, instant dry yeast, olive oil
- Pizza: Italian tomato sauce, black olives, mozzarella cheese, marinated anchovy fillets from a jar, dried oregano
How to make Mediterranean Anchovy Pizza?
1st: Prepare the dough: combine all ingredients, knead a soft dough and let it rise. Divide it into 3 parts and roll out into circles.
2nd: Preheat the oven and in the meantime, spread the tomato sauce over the pizzas. Sprinkle with oregano, add the fish fillets, olives and mozzarella sticks. Bake in the oven and serve immediately.
TIP: SLOW- RISING OF PIZZA DOUGH: let the dough rise slowly overnight in the fridge (covered with cling film). First, allow it to begin rising at room temperature for about 20 minutes before transferring it to the fridge. When you’re ready to use it, take the dough out and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before rolling it out into pizzas.
What to serve with pizza?
Something vegetable-rich, light and easy to prepare as well. Check out a few suggestions from my kitchen:
Mediterranean Anchovy Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza
- 6-8 tbps. Italian tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp. dried oregano
- 200 g mozzarella cheese, cut in stripes
- 12 anchovy fish fillets, marinated in oil
- 100 g black olives, cut in circles
Pizza dough
- 230 ml water
- 360 g all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. instant dry yeast
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine water, olive oil, flour and instant dry yeast. Knead a soft, non-sticky dough and cover with cloth.
- Then, let the dough rise in a warm room, until it doubles/triples in size. Then, place onto floured surface and divide the dough in 3 equal parts.
- Next, roll out each piece of dough into a ring. Cover each ring with tomato sauce, sprinkle with some dried oregano.
- Then, arrange the anchovies fillets and the mozzarella sticks around the circle and sprinkle the black olives on top.
- Finally, bake in preheated oven (180C/360F) until fully cooked. Turn on ventilation on for the final 5 minutes of cooking (if possible) to make the pizzas golden on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Love me some pizza