Giada De Laurentiis' Fried Pizza Is A Dream Come True
Ordering pizza for delivery is one of the fastest weeknight meals, but Giada De Laurentiis just shared a homemade option that's almost just as fast to make, and definitely cheaper than ordering take-out night after night. De Laurentiis shared a fried pizza recipe on TikTok, in a duet with @AngeDePalma, who shared the recipe originally. Basically, you pan-fry pizza dough (and if you don't have time for homemade, "store-bought is fine," as Ina Garten might say), top it with mozzarella cheese, and then cover it with a blanket of hot vodka sauce to melt the cheese. Between store-bought pizza dough and jarred vodka sauce, this meal comes together in minutes.
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In the comments on her TikTok video, De Laurentiis' fans had lots to share. Some said that they used to eat a similar dish growing up, and many recommended trying a sweet option topped with jam or cinnamon and sugar instead of cheese and sauce. Still, others tried to offer De Laurentiis, a celebrity chef and cookbook author, some cooking critiques. "We stretch the dough so it puffs up. That looks too dense," said one. "It's called 'fried dough' can get it [at] any carnival," snarked another. However, most people seemed to think the fried pizza, or "Italian biscuits and gravy," as one user joked, look delicious. And this isn't the only fried pizza De Laurentiis has shared her love for.
Pizza fritta
Giada De Laurentiis approved of the viral TikTok fried pizza recipe, but we have a feeling that if pressed to choose, her favorite fried pizza is likely pizza fritta, which she's referred to as "the one pizza you have to try in Naples" (via Giadzy). It is made by topping a round of stretched-thin pizza dough with ricotta and meat, folding it in half, and deep frying it until crispy. Think of it as an Italian ham and cheese Hot Pocket ... or, as De Laurentiis described it, "a puffy, golden half-moon of crisp dough filled with creamy, melty cheese and salty meat."
Though De Laurentiis explains that the expert pizza cooks churning out pizza fritta in Naples master their craft only after years of practice, we have a feeling you could eke out something slightly similar at home. Divide a ball of store-bought pizza dough into two or three pieces and roll it out, stuff it with meat and cheese, fold it in half, and seal the edges. Pan fry in olive oil on both sides until crisp and golden brown and serve with warm vodka sauce for dipping, and you'll have the ultimate mash-up of De Laurentiis' favorite TikTok fried pizza and Naples' pizza fritta.