The Genius Zucchini Pizza That Won Smitten Kitchen's Heart

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I do not find summer squash naturally loveable. Its flavor is not robust—fairly watery when fresh, slippery when cooked, and even when you do succeed in browning or crisping it, this textural triumph is short-lived. But summer squash (and zucchini, which is a type of summer squash) is abundant in the warmer months, and I consider it my responsibility—as a person who cooks, likes vegetables, wants to support farmers, and celebrates locally grown food for all three months it happens in my part of the world—to use it as many ways as I can.

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That sounded pretty virtuous, huh? Right, so the actual reason is that I once belonged to a CSA and the first thing I learned is that zucchini overpopulation is summer's real torment.

These are not the kinds of sentences one reads and expects culinary magnificence to follow, but this pizza upends expectations in every possible, wonderful way. I first spied it in the display case at Sullivan Street Bakery on 9th Avenue, the bread wonderland created by Jim Lahey in 1994 that has since relocated to Chelsea (and beyond). It's sold in squares, and while all of the flavors are unexpected, it was the zucchini pizza—with heaps and valleys of deer bed–like shreds of vegetables—that riveted me the most.

Jim Lahey’s 5-Ingredient Summer Squash Pizza

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At home, I heated up a square and was bowled over by the complexity of flavor. I imagined all sorts of cheffy things went into making it taste so good: lemon zest, anchovies, garlic, some imported herb that refuses to grown on American soil (you know, the usual stuff). I did not expect to take Jim Lahey's pizza cookbook down from my shelf and find that it, in fact, contains five ingredients—and two are the flour and yeast used to make the dough.

Forget cheffy fripperty—this had to be voodoo.

So I went across town and tracked Lahey down in the ceramics studio where he's learning to make teacups for the espresso he will insist you try (he feels strongly about how perfect it is and he is not wrong). I asked him a million questions about the five ingredients and learned that it was neither voodoo nor a happy accident that led to this pizza.

Lahey believes all of the best ideas are really simple—and maybe a little lazy, too. What can you make with the three ingredients in the fridge? He says he often starts by making something and even if it's a spectacular failure, finding the one good part of it and trying to focus on that, and then tinkering until the balance of ingredients and flavors is just right. His book editor encouraged him to not use any ingredients a reader cannot find in a regular grocery store, and that's how he landed on Gruyère, which he likes the funk of, even though you could also use another low-moisture mountain cheese like fontina or raclette or mix a sharper cheese into it. But Gruyère is a "one solution" cheese here.

Unsurprisingly—Jim Lahey, after all, is the guy behind the web's first viral recipe, no-knead bread (The New York Times, 2006)—the dough is as simple as can be. No kneading, of course, just a wetter dough with a slightly longer rest that I take some liberties with, pressing into a sheet pan with oiled fingers, as you would focaccia.

You shred summer squash and salt it, then drain and press it until most of the liquid is gone. These now nicely seasoned stands of vegetable are mixed with grated Gruyère and scattered all the way to the edges of the dough. Covering the edges—that is, leaving no pizza crust "handle"—allows you to bake the dough long enough that it gets fully crisp without overcooking the sides. A bit of breadcrumbs, the fifth and final ingredient, on top promises to absorb any excess liquid you could not wring out.

What emerges from the oven is like no pizza you've had before—golden, crisp, and wildly flavorful, three descriptions that, forgive me, I didn't ever expect to use in regard to 2 1/2 pounds of summer squash, but couldn't be happier that I get to.

Jim Lahey’s 5-Ingredient Summer Squash Pizza

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Ingredients

1	tablespoon olive oil, plus more for fingertips
1	recipe Jim Lahey’s Basic Pizza Dough (below), or your favorite
2 1/2	pounds (about 5 small-medium or 3 large) zucchini or other summer squash, trimmed
1 1/2	teaspoons fine sea salt
2	cups (8oz) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese
2 to 3	tablespoons plain breadcrumbs

1	tablespoon olive oil, plus more for fingertips
1	recipe Jim Lahey’s Basic Pizza Dough (below), or your favorite
2 1/2	pounds (about 5 small-medium or 3 large) zucchini or other summer squash, trimmed

1 1/2	teaspoons fine sea salt
2	cups (8oz) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese
2 to 3	tablespoons plain breadcrumbs

Jim Lahey’s Basic Pizza Dough

2	cups minus 1 tablespoon (250g) all-purpose or bread flour
1 1/4	teaspoons (5g) instant or active dry yeast
1/4	teaspoon (heaped) fine sea or table salt
2/3	cup (150g) room-temperature water

2	cups minus 1 tablespoon (250g) all-purpose or bread flour
1 1/4	teaspoons (5g) instant or active dry yeast

1/4	teaspoon (heaped) fine sea or table salt
2/3	cup (150g) room-temperature water

Got a genius recipe to share—from a classic cookbook, an online source, or anywhere, really? Perhaps something perfect for beginners? Please send it Kristen's way (and tell her what's so smart about it) at [email protected].