Sicilian
Thick, airy squares with a crisp, oily bottom. Pressed into a sheet pan.
Sicilian Grandma
Thin square slice — olive-oil-crisped bottom, hand-crushed garlic-and-oregano sauce over the cheese, fresh basil, low-moisture mozz, finished with pecorino and good EVOO.
Open recipe →Sicilian Tomato Pie
The bakery square: thick crushed sauce over a soft, oiled crumb, a dusting of pecorino, no mozzarella. Eaten at room temperature, which is the tell that it's the real thing.
Open recipe →Sfincione
Palermo's street square. Slow-cooked onion in the tomato, anchovy melted in, caciocavallo or aged provolone under it all, and toasted breadcrumbs on top instead of a cheese blanket.
Open recipe →Grandma Pepperoni
The grandma pie with cup-and-char pepperoni over the sauce streaks. Cheese under, sauce over, pepperoni on top where it can crisp — the square-pan version of the corner slice.
Open recipe →Sicilian Upside-Down
The whole pan done the grandma way: a full blanket of mozzarella straight on the dough, the sauce spread over the top of it, pecorino and oregano to finish. The cheese under the sauce keeps the crumb crisp.
Open recipe →Spicy Square
Our take on the Spicy Spring from Prince Street Pizza in Manhattan, the square people queue round the block for. The pepperoni goes on twice, under the fra diavolo and over it, so you get soft slices and crisp cups.
Open recipe →Pizza alla Norma
Catania's pasta alla Norma as a square: fried eggplant, garlicky tomato and mozzarella, with salty ricotta salata grated over once it's out. Salt the eggplant and fry it until it's properly brown; pale eggplant is a sad thing.
Open recipe →Vodka Grandma
The grandma pie that took over New York slice shops: vodka sauce in dollops over the mozzarella, fresh mozzarella tucked in between, basil when it's out. Thin, crisp and a little rich.
Open recipe →Pistachio & Mortadella
Pistachio pesto under fresh mozzarella, then mortadella and burrata draped over once it's out. It's a pairing you'll find all over Sicily. The mortadella stays silky because it never goes in the oven.
Open recipe →Lemon Square
A white square with lemon sliced so thin it bakes into soft, bittersweet rounds under mozzarella, pecorino and oregano, and cool ricotta spooned over at the end. Use a thin-skinned lemon, a Meyer if you can find one, and a mandoline.
Open recipe →