Pizza alla pescatora
Pizza ai frutti di mare
The fisherman's pizza: tomato and garlic topped with mussels, clams, prawns and squid, finished with parsley and olive oil, and no cheese.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Pizza ai frutti di mare.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- 8 hr
- Total
- 9 hr
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Pizza alla pescatora, also called pizza ai frutti di mare, is a tomato pizza topped with shellfish and squid and finished with parsley, without any cheese. Like most of Italy, Naples does not put cheese on seafood. The seafood is prepared first. Mussels and clams are opened in a covered pan with garlic and olive oil, and most are taken out of their shells, keeping a few whole for looks. Their cooking liquid is strained and reduced to a few spoonfuls of concentrated sea flavour. The pizza bakes with tomato and garlic for a few minutes, then the shellfish, squid rings and peeled prawns go on for the last minutes, so nothing turns rubbery. Done is a blistered, garlicky tomato pizza covered with tender seafood, glistening with oil and its own juices, and green with parsley.
What you'll need
13 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Dough
- Topping
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Dough
- Wheat flour, tipo 00300 g
- Water, cool190 ml
- Yeast, fresh, or a pinch of dried1 g
- Salt8 g
Topping
- Plum tomatoes, San Marzano, crushed by hand with a pinch of salt200 g
- Mussels, scrubbed and debearded300 g
- Clams, vongole, purged in salted water300 g
Ingredients
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Dissolve the yeast in the water, mix in the flour, then the salt, and knead until smooth. Cover and rise 2 hours, then divide into two balls and rise 6 hours more, or 24 hours in the fridge.
15 min
Step 2
Warm 2 tbsp oil with the crushed garlic in a wide pan, add the mussels and clams, cover and cook over high heat 3–4 minutes until they open. Shell most of them, keeping a few whole. Strain the liquid and boil it down to 3 tbsp.
12 min
Step 3
Heat the oven to its highest setting with a steel or upturned tray inside for 40 minutes.
40 min280°C
Step 4
Press each ball out from the centre with your fingers, leaving a thicker rim. Spread with tomato, scatter the sliced garlic and chilli, if using, and drizzle with oil. Bake 4 minutes.
8 min
Step 5
Take the pizzas out, add the squid, prawns and shellfish, spoon over the reduced liquid and bake 3–4 minutes more, until the prawns are pink. Finish with parsley and a thread of oil.
5 min
Tip: In a wood oven, add everything at once: the pizza cooks in about 90 seconds.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 1183 kcal
- Protein
- 84 g
- Carbs
- 133.6 g
- Fat
- 32.1 g
- Saturated fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 5.7 g
- Sugar
- 3.5 g
- Sodium
- 2366 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Shellfish
- Pescatarian
- Dairy-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Clams → More mussels
Use whatever shellfish is fresh; the method stays the same.
Tips
- Discard any mussels or clams that stay closed after cooking.
- Soak clams in salted water for an hour so they spit out their sand.
History & culture
It is on the menu of pizzerias along the coasts of Campania, Lazio and Puglia, ordered in summer near the sea. Each pizzeria uses what the market had that morning, so the mix of shellfish changes, but the rules stay the same: garlic, tomato, parsley, no cheese. A little chilli is common.
Seafood went on Neapolitan pizza early: nineteenth-century accounts of the city's pizza list toppings of tiny fish alongside lard, cheese and tomato. In a port city where shellfish were cheap, a pizza of the day's catch was natural, and the mixed seafood pizza of today grew from it.
Traditional — Tomato, garlic, mussels, clams, prawns, squid, parsley and olive oil. No cheese.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Pizza alla pescatora take?
9 hr all in — 40 min prep, 20 min cook, 8 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 2 pizzas. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Shellfish. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Pescatarian, Dairy-free.
6 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Frying pan, Oven, Baking tray.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 8 g.
What can I use instead?
Clams → More mussels. Use whatever shellfish is fresh; the method stays the same.
Any tips from this recipe?
Discard any mussels or clams that stay closed after cooking. Soak clams in salted water for an hour so they spit out their sand.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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