Pizzaiola Burgers Recipes

Steps:

• Sprinkle the steak all over with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steak and sear until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add the garlic to the skillet. Once it sizzles, add the onion and bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften slightly, about 4 minutes. Add the pepperoncini, tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes and 3/4 cup water and stir to combine. Bring to a rapid simmer, then nestle the steak in the sauce and simmer, turning once, until medium rare, about 7 minutes.
• Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest about 5 minutes. Continue simmering the sauce until thickened, about 3 more minutes. Thinly slice the steak against the grain and divide among plates. Top with the sauce and parsley. Serve with focaccia.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Dice the smoked mozzarella into 1/2-inch cubes. Set aside. In a food processor, pulse the shallots, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until blended. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the beef and pork and, using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until combined. Form into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs. Insert 1 cube smoked mozzarella into the center of each meatball and form the meat around it, enclosing the cheese. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour equal parts olive oil and vegetable oil to fill the pan halfway. Heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 350 degrees F. In batches, fry the meatballs until dark brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Place the fried meatballs on a foil-lined baking sheet. Put in the oven and bake until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly, then serve immediately with marinara sauce, if desired.
• Photograph by Joseph DeLeo

Steps:

• Preheat the grill.
• Meanwhile, prepare the burger mixture. Turn on a food processor fitted with metal blades and drop three of the garlic clove halves and the basil leaves through the feed tube to chop them finely. Stop the machine, scrape down the sides of the work bowl, and add the ground beef, Parmesan, tomato paste, oregano, and sugar. Pulse the machine on and off several times until the ingredients are well mixed. With clean hands, form the mixture into four equal circular patties about 3/4 inch thick. Set the patties aside on a plate. Wash your hands and then brush the cut sides of the rolls with the olive oil.
• Carefully oil the grill rack. Put the burgers on the grill and cook until done medium well, 12 to 14 minutes, turning once. During the last 2 minutes or so, put the roll halves oiled sides down on the grill to toast until golden.
• Quickly rub the toasted side of each roll half lightly with the cut side of the remaining garlic clove half. Place a burger on the bottom half of each roll and serve with condiments for guests to add to taste.

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with the salt and pepper. Cook the chicken in the hot oil until completely browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking dish; cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Place the potatoes and bell peppers in the skillet. Season with oregano, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until the vegetables soften, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth to the skillet; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chicken breasts; tightly cover again with the aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pan over med-high heat.
• Add in onions and season with salt and pepper.
• Cover the onions with a piece of foil and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, 2-3 minutes.
• Remove the foil and continue cooking until fully softened, about 5-6 minutes.
• Add in the tomato paste; cook/stir occasionally, until it smells sweet and has caramelized, 2-3 minutes.
• Add in the wine and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits that may be stuck to the bottom.
• Cook until the wine has almost completely evaporated, 1 minute; turn off the heat and reserve.
• While the onions cook, place a big skillet over med-high heat with the remaining tablespoon of oil.
• In a big mixing bowl, use your hands to combine the ground sirloin, pepperoni, parsley, oregano, and red pepper flakes.
• Season the meat with salt and pepper, then score the meat into 4 parts using the side of your hand.
• Form 4 large patties thinner in the center than at the edges for even cooking and to prevent the burgers from bulging.
• Cook for 4-5 minutes per side for medium doneness.
• Preheat the broiler.
• While the burgers are cooking, heat the butter and garlic together in a small pot over medium heat.
• When the butter melts, remove the pot from the heat to infuse the butter with the garlic flavor.
• While the butter is melting, place the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them under the broiler until golden brown on each side.
• Brush the toasts with the garlic butter and sprinkle with the grated cheese.
• Place the toasts back on the baking sheet and top each with one burger.
• Divide the onion mixture among the four burgers and top each one with two slices of cheese.
• Slide the burgers under the broiler to melt the cheese, 2-3 minutes.
• Serve the burgers with a knife and fork, and with your favorite salad on the side.

Steps:

• Make the sauce. If using fresh tomatoes, roughly chop them. Place in a pan with the garlic, oil, oregano or marjoram and season to taste. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins, stirring once or twice. Take off the heat, stir in the basil, then set aside.
• When ready to serve, heat a heavy-based frying pan until you can feel a strong heat rising. Smear the oil on both sides of the steak and season each side. Slap the steak into the centre of the pan and adjust the heat to medium-high. Cook for 6 mins, turning halfway through - this is for medium rare. For a medium steak, allow 7-8 mins in total, allow 8-10 mins for well done.
• Remove from the pan to a warm platter and leave to stand for 5 mins. Cut in two and serve drizzled with any juices and topped with the sauce.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in water and oil until combined. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Gently form into a ball. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough in half. On parchment, roll each half into a 10-in. circle. Transfer (leaving dough on parchment) to a 12-in. pizza pan. , Preheat oven to 425°. Combine sauce ingredients; spread over pizzas. Top with pepperoni, green pepper, onion and cheese. If desired, sprinkle with additional dried basil and oregano. Bake on a low oven rack, one at a time, until bottom of crust is golden and cheese is lightly browned, 15-20 minutes. Cut into squares.

Steps:

• Crust: Mix until thoroughly combined - Dough will be very stiff. makes enough for two (2) 12" pizza pies. The dough is ready to use "as-is" No need to rise or kneed. Divide the dough in half, shape into a round ball and roll out paper thin.
• In order to move the crusts around a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal works well.
• After the crust, it's the sauce that begins the first real steps towards forming the total Imo's pizza experience. Imos uses a tomato sauce mixture that has a sweet taste, but it's not so overly sweet to hide the rich tomato flavor or spices.
• Sauce:Combine together and it's ready to use - do not pre-cook the sauce! This Makes enough sauce for about four (4) 12" pizza pies, so that should give you some idea of how much to use on each pizza.
• On top of the sweet sauce Imo's uses Provel Cheese, which is simply a blend of Cheddar, Swiss and Provolone cheeses with some liquid smoke flavoring. If you can't find Provel in your local market, it can be easily created.
• Cheese:Toss until cheeses and smoke flavoring are completely incorporated. Typically it's enough cheese for two (2) 12" pizza pies, but if you like extra-cheese you'll want to make more.
• Authentic Imo's pizza toppings include: Extra-Cheese, Onion, Green Pepper, Sausage, Hamburger, Pepperoni, Anchovy, Bacon, Black Olive, Mushroom, Canadian Bacon, Jalapenos, Pineapple, Banana Peppers, and Tomatoes.
• In a professional pizza oven the meat toppings (Hamburger, Sausage, Bacon, etc.) can usually be put on raw, but at home you'll want to fully precook the meat before assembling the pizza.
• Now you have the correct style crust, sweet sauce, smoky cheese, generous toppings, it's now ready to be lightly sprinkled with some Italian seasonings.
• Seasonings: Combine all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and blend well.
• While in the restaurant the pizza is baked in a pizza pan, at home you'll have the best results using a pizza stone and an oven temperature around 450 degrees. If you don't have a pizza stone, use the thinnest baking sheet you have and the lowest over rack position. The pizza is done when the underside of the crust is a dark golden brown, and the cheese is has a slight golden tint to it. Underbaking the crust will result in a limp crust, overbaking will result in a hard, tough, burnt-tasting crust, getting the right baking time to produce a crisp crust will require a bit of experimentation. The amount and type of toppings you use will also affect the total baking time. A rule-of-thumb is to check the pizza after about 10-12 minutes and adjust baking time from there accordingly.
• And, as a final touch to truly replicate Imo's Pizza at home, is to cut the pizza into tile-like squares instead of the traditional triangle slices.