There was a time (long ago & far away) when I always had deli meats on hand for lunches. Times have changed. Now, I almost always eat salad for lunch. The only time I have deli meat in the house these days is when we are having company for an extended length of time. When I do buy it, I purchase roast beef (my favorite), turkey (unless it is around Thanksgiving) and ham. I tend to over buy the ham just so I have plenty left to use in my grandmother’s ham & cheese pizza recipe. It’s a two-crusted pizza filled with deli meat & cheese that my family has been making & enjoying for a few generations. Since it is also a favorite with my kids, I’m pretty confident that they will continue to make it, too.
After years of using only ham & cheese in this, we started adding to it, using a variety of other ingredients we had on hand. (Apparently, my grandmother also mixed it up on occasion. And made her own dough!) Kelly prefered just ham and cheese in it, (still does) but the rest of us liked the addition of onions and peppers. Sometimes, we would substitute deli turkey or chicken for the ham, or a combination of meats. While it makes quite a few servings, (it’s perfect for serving a houseful!) it never lasts long. And I think about my grandmother every time we make it.
Ham & Cheese Pizza
Ham & Cheese Pizza (Makes 15-18 slices of pizza)
Ingredients:
- 2 1-pound loaves of pizza dough
- 3/4 pound thinly sliced ham
- 3/4 pound American cheese slices
- oregano
- basil
- salt & pepper
- olive oil
- grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Spread a bit of the oil on a 9 x 12 baking sheet, then sprinkle the sheet with oregano, basil, salt, & pepper. Stretch one loaf of dough onto the baking sheet, gently pushing it to the sides and into the corners for the bottom layer, and patching any holes that form. Place a layer of ham on the dough, overlapping the pieces slightly. Layer the cheese over the ham in the same way. Add another layer of ham. (If the meat is a thicker cut, one layer of ham is plenty.) Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese over the ham & cheese layers.
Layer the ham & cheese over the dough.
We like to add in some onions & peppers.
Carefully stretch the second loaf of dough over the ham and cheese layers (and patching any holes that form) then seal the edges by pulling the lower layer of dough up and over the top layer of dough and pinching the edges together to seal it. Spread a thin layer of olive oil on top of the pizza and sprinkle the top with the oregano, basil, salt, & pepper.
Top with the other half of the dough.
Bake the pizza at 350º F for 25-35 minutes, until the top is a nice golden brown.
Bake it to a golden brown color.
Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Allow the pizza to rest before cutting into it.
NOTES: Thinly sliced turkey or chicken can be substituted for the ham. Onion slices, tomato slices, and pepper slices can also be layered on top of the meat & cheese layers, under the top layer of dough. You can also substitute other types of sliced cheese into the pizza.
This brings back fond memories of my grandmother’s kitchen! ~Linda
Ham & Cheese Pizza (Makes 15-18 slices of pizza)
Ingredients:
- 2 1-pound loaves of pizza dough
- 3/4 pound thinly sliced ham
- 3/4 pound American cheese slices
- oregano
- basil
- salt & pepper
- olive oil
- grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Spread a bit of the oil on a 9 x 12 baking sheet, then sprinkle the sheet with oregano, basil, salt, & pepper. Stretch one loaf of dough onto the baking sheet, gently pushing it to the sides and into the corners for the bottom layer, and patching any holes that form. Place a layer of ham on the dough, overlapping the pieces slightly. Layer the cheese over the ham in the same way. Add another layer of ham. (If the meat is a thicker cut, one layer of ham is plenty.) Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese over the ham & cheese layers.
Carefully stretch the second loaf of dough over the ham and cheese layers (and patching any holes that form) then seal the edges by pulling the lower layer of dough up and over the top layer of dough and pinching the edges shut. Spread a thin layer of olive oil on top of the pizza and sprinkle it with the oregano, basil, salt, & pepper.
Bake the pizza at 350º F for 25-35 minutes, until the top is a nice golden brown. Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
NOTES: Thinly sliced turkey or chicken can be substituted for the ham. Onion slices, tomato slices, and pepper slices can also be layered on top of the meat & cheese layers, under the top layer of dough. You can also substitute other types of sliced cheese into the pizza.