Pizza Frita – or Toutons and Tomatoes! Italian kids love their fried bread or pizza dough with tomato sauce and cheese. Newfoundlanders love their toutens, and once you try this, you’ll be hooked too.
Pizza Fritta or Toutons and Tomatoes!
Pizza Fritta or Toutons and Tomatoes!
When I saw chef David Rocco make this simple dish of Pizza Fritta on his Food Network show I couldn’t help but think, “Sure, that’s just toutons and tomatoes!” Of course I was intrigued and just had to try it with a family favorite at our house, Spicy Quick Tomato Compote. The result was simple perfection. The kids loved it and we have enjoyed this totally uncomplicated dish many times since at weekend brunches and quick lunches. I’m even planning to serve it as an appetizer at a dinner party sometime soon.
The secret to good toutons is letting the dough rounds rise for 20 minutes or so before frying them very slowly in traditional pork fat or as I do nowadays, in canola oil or a combination of olive oil and butter. I use only a medium low heat setting and take up to 10 minutes or more to fry my toutons to make sure they are cooked through the center and not doughy.
I just use my standard white bread recipe for the dough, which you can find here: White Bread.For our readers outside Newfoundland, you can read more about traditional Newfoundland toutons and tips on getting them right at both of these former posts from Rock Recipes: Toutons and Toutons Benedict
Pizza Frita - or Toutons and Tomatoes! Italian kids love their fried bread or pizza dough with tomato sauce and cheese. Newfoundlanders love their toutens, and once you try this, you'll be hooked too.
Course:
Lunch
Author: Barry C. Parsons
Ingredients
one dozen toutons
grated parmesan cheese
For the Spicy Quick Tomato Compote
4clovesminced garlic
6tbspolive oil
8large ripe tomatoes diced
2tbspbrown sugar
6tbspbalsamic vinegar
1/2tspcrushed chili sauce or chili flakesmore or less to taste to control the heat
salt and pepper to season
Instructions
Saute the garlic in the oil over medium heat for just a minute before adding the tomatoes, brown sugar, chili sauce, salt, pepper. Continue to cook until the tomatoes soften and the compote reduces to a jam-like consistency. Add the balsamic vinegar in the final minute or two of cooking before serving.
Serve the tomato compote over the warm toutons with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
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Hi, I'm Barry. I'm Dad to 2 amazing kids, author of 4 best-selling cookbooks, a freelance food writer & full time blogger. My lifetime love of cooking & baking has led me to share over 1800 recipes on this blog over the last 13 years. Come back often, there's always great new food & recipes coming out of my St. John's, Newfoundland kitchen!