Pizza fiori di zucca e alici
A Roman thin-crust white pizza of fior di latte, zucchini flowers and anchovies, rolled out thin and baked crisp.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Rest
- 4 hr
- Total
- 4 hr 37 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
This is a Roman pizza in two senses. The base is Rome's own round pizza, the tonda romana: a dough with a little olive oil, rolled out very thin with a rolling pin and baked until it is crisp and crackling right to the edge, unlike Naples' soft, puffy rim. The topping is a Roman favourite: fior di latte, delicate zucchini flowers and salted anchovies, with no tomato. Open each flower gently, pull out the bitter pistil inside and tear the petals lengthwise. Lay them over the mozzarella with the anchovy fillets, which melt in the heat and season everything. The flowers are fragile, so buy them the day you cook. Done is a thin, crunchy pizza with pools of melted cheese, soft golden-orange petals and salty anchovy in every bite.
What you'll need
9 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Dough
- Topping
Ingredients
Dough
- Wheat flour, tipo 0 or 00300 g
- Water, lukewarm170 ml
- Yeast, dried2 g
- Salt7 g
- Olive oil, extra virgin: 1 for the dough, the rest for the top44 ml
Topping
- Mozzarella, fior di latte, torn and drained200 g
- Zucchini flowers, pistils removed, petals torn lengthwise10
- Anchovy fillet, salted or in oil8
- Black pepper1.2 ml
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 1 tbsp oil, and knead until smooth and firm. Divide into two balls, cover and rise 3–4 hours.
15 min
Step 2
Heat the oven to its highest setting with a steel or upturned tray inside for 40 minutes.
40 min280°C
Step 3
Roll each ball out with a rolling pin on a floured surface as thin as you can, 2–3 mm, right to the edge. Lay on a sheet of baking paper.
5 min
Step 4
Scatter the mozzarella, then the flower petals and anchovies. Drizzle with oil and add pepper. Bake on the hot steel 8–12 minutes until the base is crisp and golden and the cheese bubbling.
12 min
Tip: Slide the baking paper out after 3 minutes so the base crisps directly on the steel.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 1129 kcal
- Protein
- 43.7 g
- Carbs
- 118.3 g
- Fat
- 52.4 g
- Saturated fat
- 22.3 g
- Fibre
- 4.7 g
- Sugar
- 1.7 g
- Sodium
- 2164 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
- Milk
- Fish
- Pescatarian
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 November.
Substitutions
Anchovies → Leave them out
Many Roman pizzerias also serve fior di latte and zucchini flowers alone.
Tips
- Zucchini flowers wilt within a day; keep them in the fridge on a damp cloth and use them fast.
- No salt in the topping: the anchovies season it.
History & culture
Romans like their pizza thin, crisp and 'scrocchiarella', crunchy, and eat it in the evening at pizzerias with fried starters. Zucchini flowers with mozzarella and anchovy are a Roman classic: the same three go into fiori di zucca fritti, the battered, stuffed flowers that start a meal at a Roman pizzeria in spring and summer.
Rome's thin pizza took shape in the city's pizzerias in the decades after the Second World War, as a local alternative to the Neapolitan one, made with oil in the dough and rolled out with a pin. The flower-and-anchovy combination came from the Roman kitchen, where zucchini flowers from the market gardens around the city have long been fried with mozzarella and anchovy.
Traditional — A Roman thin, crisp base with oil in the dough, topped with fior di latte, zucchini flowers and anchovies. No tomato.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Pizza fiori di zucca e alici take?
4 hr 37 min all in — 25 min prep, 12 min cook, 4 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?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Fish. 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.
6 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Rolling pin, Oven, Baking tray.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 7 g.
What can I use instead?
Anchovies → Leave them out. Many Roman pizzerias also serve fior di latte and zucchini flowers alone.
Any tips from this recipe?
Zucchini flowers wilt within a day; keep them in the fridge on a damp cloth and use them fast. No salt in the topping: the anchovies season it.
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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