The after hours menu at Claridge’s Hotel in London is a spectacular celebration of late night food which is troublesome, especially with their puff pastry pizza option dangling out there at 2 AM or so. It’s too delicious to pass up but do you really need a sheet of pastry dough drenched with cheese, sauce and meat that late? Probably not but at that hour who should be expected to make a smart decision?
As everyone knows, we have perfected the larger version of the hotel’s Flaky Puff Pastry Pizza and it is a staple appetizer at dinner parties. However the slices in the middle would always be a bit gooey so we decided to cut the dough into squares and put the topping on each slice individually. This is a really easy appetizer to make and people really enjoy nibble on a crisp and spicy snack before a meal.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (preferably Dufour), thawed
- 2 Cups of Rao’s marinara sauce
- ¼ pound soppressata (Italian hot dry salami, thinly sliced)
- 1 pepperoni, or charizo thinly sliced
- 1 package mozzarella cheese, packaged and sliced
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, separated in half
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, separated in half
Making It
- Set oven to 400 degrees
- Take a thawed sheet of puff pastry and place flat on a Silpat or parchment paper, cut into two inch square and separate, then put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes
- Take out of fridge, place another sheet of parchment or Silpat paper on top and then another baking sheet, then bake for 10 minutes and remove, take off the top baking sheet and the top parchment of Silpat
- Take the Rao’s marinara sauce and heat a 1/2 tablespoon of red pepper flakes and a 1/2 tablespoon of dried oregano in olive oil, over a medium flame. Then add two cups of the sauce and cook for 10 minutes and you will have a tasty sauce, let cool
- Layer each piece with a light amount of the sauce then soppressata, then top with 1 layer of sliced mozzarella cheese covering the entire piece
- Sprinkle the red pepper flakes on the top of the cheese. Next, add a layer of pepperoni or chorizo on top of the cheese
- Sprinkle with the dried oregano
- Bake for 15 minutes or so on a high rack in the oven, or until the cheese is golden brown on the sides
- Let rest for 5–7 minutes, then put on cutting board to serve
UPDATE: Claridges no longer offers their once delicious puff pastry pizza and now just serve traditional styled pizza dough, which isn’t that bad but a terrible shame to, yet again, change their amazing bar / late night menu. Up until 2009 they had the most amazing chicken wings and they too were replaced with something less exciting. If you happen to go their for a snack then their tempura shrimp. This dish now reigns supreme and one of the few original items still on the menu.
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