Battle of Trenton
It’s one of the most recognizable, if not the most accurate, images from the Revolutionary War — Emanuel Leutze’s oil painting of a steely Gen. George Washington crossing the icy Delaware River on Christmas night 1776. Having been driven out of New York the previous fall, Washington knew he had to engineer a victory against the German soldiers garrisoned at Trenton, N.J., to galvanize the American effort.
They crossed the ice-choked river in darkness in shallow cargo boats. Upon landing, it took the Colonial Army another four hours to march in freezing rain from the river crossing site to the German encampment on the outskirts of Trenton. The surprise attack ended in victory, boosting the troops’ flagging morale. It was one of the turning points in America’s War of Independence.
PG tested
Most American pizzas are constructed the same way: first a layer of tomato sauce, followed by a handful or two of shredded cheese and all the other toppings. A Trenton tomato pie flips that on its head, with crushed tomato spooned on top of a light layer of low-moisture mozzarella,
The first restaurant to serve pizza this way was Joe’s Tomato Pie, which was only the second pizzeria in America when it opened in 1910. (Manhattan’s Lombardi’s opened in 1905.) Papa’s Tomato Pies followed two years later, and is now the oldest continuously run pizza shop in the country.
The crust is also crucial. One veteran pie maker says that preparing the dough very thin allows it to crisp and become a bit more firm so that it is easier to handle and savor.
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) ¾ teaspoon kosher salt 8 ounces prepared pizza
dough, room temperature
All-purpose flour (for surface)
5 ounces part-skim milk mozzarella, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
¾ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes for serving, optional
Place a rack in lowest position of oven. Set pizza stone or 2 stacked, inverted baking sheets on rack; preheat oven to 500 degrees at least 1 hour.
Drain tomatoes in a colander. Crush into small pieces with your hands, drain again, and transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in salt; set aside.
Roll out dough to a 14-inch circle on lightly floured parchment paper, making sure dough is evenly thin from center to edge; if dough pulls back when rolling, cover with plastic wrap and wait 5 minutes.
Transfer parchment with dough to a pizza peel, large cutting board, or inverted baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1¼ cups cheese. Top with tomatoes. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup cheese.
Carefully slide parchment with pizza onto hot baking stone. Bake pizza until crust is deep golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Transfer pizza to a cutting board and let cool 2 minutes. Drizzle with oil and cut into wedges. Serve with red pepper flakes, if using.
Makes 1 pizza.