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Recipe: Clam, Chile, and Parsley Pizza à la Franny’s

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Franny’s was a beloved upscale Brooklyn pizzeria that opened in 2004* to immediate acclaim due in part to this white clam pie. For reasons that remain undisclosed, it shuttered in August 2017 after nearly 13 years on the scene.

For those of you lucky enough to have eaten there, this topping combo will hopefully jog your taste-memory. It might not be exactly the same as chef Andrew Feinberg’s pizza pulled straight from a scorching wood-fired oven, but if your homemade-pizza skills are strong, it will not disappoint.

This recipe is adapted from Serious Eats and assumes you have already made some dough and have a skin stretched and ready to top.

* Here is my embarrassing initial review of the place from opening night.

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Clam, Chile, and Parsley Pizza à la Franny's

This recipe should make enough for four 12–13" pizzas.

Servings 4 pizzas

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 Spanish onion cut into chunks
  • 4 garlic cloves smashed and peeled
  • 1 1/4 cups dry white wine
  • 4 1/2 dozen dozen littleneck clams about 6 pounds, scrubbed well
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • all-purpose flour
  • red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. Place 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it is limp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 7 minutes, until the edges are golden. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Add the clams, cover the pot, and cook until the clams start to open, about 10 minutes. As they open, transfer them to a large bowl. When all the clams are cooked, simmer the liquid in the pot until it reduces to a thick glaze, about 10 minutes. Add the cream, bring to a simmer, and reduce by a quarter, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and set aside. It thickens as it cools.

  2. Meanwhile, when the clams are cool, pluck out the meat and discard the shells.

  3. Stretch dough ball to desired size.

  4. Working quickly, paint the entire surface of the pizza with one-fourth of the glaze. Scatter the clams over the pizza and sprinkle with chili flakes.

  5. Cook pizza — use the broiler to char, if desired. Remove from oven when done.

  6. Drizzle post-oven pizza with a dash of your best-quality olive oil and scatter with a quarter of the parsley. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.