Coppa & Cherry Pepper French Bread Pizza
Sometimes you just need to gnaw on an entire half of a loaf of french bread. I almost went for the big one, but changed my mind last minute after carrying around the loaf in my basket through the entire store. I do that. A lot.
I spent way too much time agonizing deciding on what to buy sometimes. It gets pretty bad.
I switched mostly because I didn’t want to buy more cheese. A small brick of mozzarella was plenty. While I’m a cheeseaholic, I don’t like my pizzas too cheesy. Sacrilegious, I know.
Have you ever asked yourself, “how could I possibly make pizza that much more of a comfort food?” I do that all the time. This was a result of that. I even ditched any greenery for just a handful of sliced hot cherry peppers. They kind of overwhelmed the pizza with the tomato sauce. Hot coppa just disappeared into it. I was more into the cheese and bread anyway, let’s be honest.
Ingredients
- 1 small loaf of french bread [double the rest of you get the large one]
- olive oil
- 4oz shredded mozzarella
- 10-12 slices coppa salami
- 1 hot cherry pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 tablespoon italian seasoning
- 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- salt to taste
- basil
Preparation
Preheat the broiler and have a baking sheet handy. Slice the french bread in half lengthwise. Brush the bread with olive oil. Stick it under the broiler for a few minutes until it’s golden brown and toasted.
While it toasts, heat up the tomato paste with Italian seasoning and balsamic vinegar. Add salt to taste. Brush the paste onto the bread. Top with half of the cheese. Place the coppa on in a single layer on each piece of bread. Sprinkle with the peppers and the remainder of the cheese.
Stick the bread back under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven, slice into more manageable pieces, serve.
The only reason to get a cheese-soggy pizza is if the bread is lame. Amazing fresh bread? Calls for a slight rationing of cheese. Slight. And I’m all for ignoring veggies on pizza. I’ll have a side salad if I really am feeling a need for veggies. Otherwise? Sauce totally counts.
PS–Now I just want to wrap my fingers in foil for no reason–forget removing polish. An evening of foil fingers, away!
Now I want meat, cheese, and bread for dinner. Wait..when don’t I want that for dinner?
PS — I hope you’re enjoying a glass of wine with all that fun.
Well, you’ve just planned my evening for me. Alcohol and fun with foil.
Annnnd now I really want pizza, even though we are literally minutes from an Also delicious dinner of red beans & rice & a big butter lettuce salad. Maybe tomorrow can be pizza day…
A big butter lettuce sounds SO good right now. It’s been ridiculous hot lately.
I have a really dumb question…can you explain to me how to use the broiler? I grew up in a family where we rarely used the oven – my family cooks everything stovetop or in a rice cooker; the oven was “extra storage” for pots and pans. I avoid recipes that call for use of the broiler because I have no idea how to do it and I don’t want to end up burning everything to a crisp. I’ve seen recipes where it will say to use your “broiler pan” – I don’t know what that is either. This recipe looks too good to not make! 🙂 Thanks for any help you may have. Love your blog! –A fellow Portlander 🙂
It’s not a dumb question at all since you’ve never used one!
http://www.thekitchn.com/kitchen-basics-how-to-use-your-112585 This article says everything I would on a broiler without having to copy and paste. 🙂 The short version is it’s like an upside down grill in your oven.
I once invested in a broiler pan that was a huge waste. It’s hard to clean and didn’t do that much different that a normal pan can’t do. The only thing I notice is my cheap-y baking pans sometimes warp mid-broil because it’s so dang hot, but it ultimately chills out when it cools.
It’s a really great quick cooking method, so just keep an eye on it. Things take minutes, so it’s best to just stand nearby [or constantly peek through the window like I do].