True to their Southern Italian roots, Pepe’s uses only freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese on their white clam pies. I’ve added bacon (it’s optional, of course) because, well, bacon is good on everything, right? Salty, smoky bacon is especially good paired with briny clams.

In recreating this classic New Haven style pizza recipe, I’ve taken some creative license. Nothing will ever be as delicious as a white clam pizza hot out of Pepe’s nearly 100-year-old coal-fired pizza oven, but mine is pretty dang good. This recipe is my interpretation of their delicious clam pizza. Get it? Is this really Frank Pepe’s white clam pizza recipe?Īs far as I know, Frank Pepe and Pepe’s Pizzeria have never revealed their exact recipe. Pepe’s white clam pizza has no tomato sauce. And in my opinion, it is the best New Haven clam pizza you’ll find. Pepe’s was the first place I ever had pizza with clams. Its topping is a savory mix of fresh littleneck clams, garlic, olive oil, and grated pecorino cheese. The most famous pizza at Pepe’s though is the white clam pizza. But you can get other toppings like pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, even chopped broccoli, too. The variation that originally put Frank Pepe on the map also had anchovies (the good kind, imported from Italy) on top. In its original form, the “original tomato pie,” it gets a light shmear of rich tomato sauce and a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella cheese. The thin, Napolitana-style crust bubbles and chars in the coal-fired oven. Turns out, Pepe’s pizza is one of the few foods that I consider good enough to be worth waiting outside in the snow for. As we got in line, I said “This better be good if you’re making me wait outside in the freezing cold for it.” A lady in front of us in line turned around and said “Oh, it is, honey. It was really, really cold for this Bay Area girl. The first time we went to Pepe’s, it was winter. Being a California food snob, I didn’t really believe it. The best pizza in the world is what he told me. And it is to die for.įor years before I ever went to Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria in New Haven, Connecticut, my husband (then boyfriend) had been telling me about their pizza. The thin crust is topped with a garlicky mix of fresh clams, grated pecorino cheese, and olive oil and then baked in the restaurant’s coal-fired pizza oven.

Pepe’s White Clam Pizza has been called the best thing to eat in Connecticut.

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