For base
Pizza yeast dough (Home-made, or store-bought)

For topping
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
5 fresh large ripe tomatoes, chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
8 canned sardines, drained, rinsed and chopped
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Make pizza dough using flour, dry yeast, hot water and about a tablespoon of shortening. Knead. Shape in a ball. Place in a container, cover, a then allow it rest until it doubles in volume.



To make topping

Rinse sardines with cold water; dry with kitchen paper towels. Chop. Keep aside.

Fry onions in olive oil until golden.

Stir in chopped tomatoes.

Add chopped parsley.

Sprinkle pepper on the sauce and cook for about 8 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 F. degrees.

Meanwhile stretch out the pizza dough, and place it in well-greased, rectangular pizza pan.

Spread sauce over pizza dough.

Add the chopped sardines, distributing evenly.

Sprinkle breadcrumbs, distributing evenly on the topping.

Bake in a preheated 450 F. degree oven until the pizza dough is done -- about 20 to 30 minutes.

Serve warm.

The recipe in this entry was adapted from "The Art of Sicilian Cooking" by Anna Muffoletto (New York: Doubleday, 1971). The cookbook can be borrowed for free at the on-line library, www.openlibrary.org..... P.S. I tried this famous Sicilian pizza topping and found it to be quite good. The cookbook writer, Anna Muffoletto, indicates that Pizza Muffoletto's topping is traditionally made with onions, tomatoes, bread crumbs, sardines and parsley, but some home cooks opt to use anchovies instead of sardines, and grated cheese instead breadcrumbs. Photo: Mary Melfi.

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