The Ultimate Holdiay Leftovers (Pan) Pizza by: Ooni Pizza Ovens

You can use any ingredient any way you like on pizza, of course. But one key to making a truly great seasonal and thematic pizza using ingredients not traditionally associated with it is to rethink their application as toppings. In concert with that? Reinterpret the original dish, balance the flavors, and try not to go overboard. These are core tenets to apply when thinking about how to make the Ultimate Holiday Pizza.

To take something that could just be a kitchen sink pizza and turn it into one almost worth making an entire Holiday feast out of, we turned to a pizza purist, a pizza maker who would typically never engage in schtick.

Because this pizza is meant to be something anyone can do using their own Holiday leftovers, this recipe is a little more about philosophy, ratio, technique and application than how to make the main dishes for which the American holiday is known. Consider the following approaches. Round or square? Should there be tomato sauce? How should the cheese be applied? Do gravy and cranberry sauce have a place? How do the turkey and stuffing get applied? And do any other leftovers belong? 

It’s all about one of the best parts of the holidays, the leftovers sandwich, and thinking about this pizza as “a baked, open-faced sandwich on pizza dough.” That means a square pan pie, which you can make in a 16 by 16-, 14 by 14- or 12 by 12-inch pan in Ooni ovens (depending on which model you own) or in a 12 by 18-inch pan in your home oven. But you can stretch Ooni’s Classic Pizza Dough (or store-bought dough) out in a pan to great effect. 

To recap: Loosen your mashed potatoes with several sticks of butter, then mix the cheese into it. Add the stuffing (not too much) mid-bake. Shred your turkey and submerge it in gravy. If you’re considering a non-standard topping, make it ham. Reduce your gravy til nappant. Pass a juice-loosened cranberry sauce through a sieve. And drizzle the crust with hot honey (make your own!).

Time
1 hr 20 minutes (active), 3 hours (passive)

Yield
Makes one pan pizza 

Equipment 
Ooni Pizza Oven
Ooni Infrared Thermometer
1 16 by 16-, 14 by 14-, 12 by12-, or 12 by 18-inch pan (see headnote)
1 wide spatula or fish turner
2-ounce ladle
Ooni Pizza Cutter Wheel or Pizza Cutter Rocker Blade 

Ingredients
1½-pound (680 g) Classic Pizza Dough Ball
Extra-virgin olive oil for greasing the pan
1 pound (454 g) turkey, shredded (preferably stored submerged in gravy)
2 sticks (220 g) butter, melted
2 cups (544 g) mashed potatoes
1 cup (118 g) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup (118 g) Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups (473 ml) gravy 
½ cup (118 ml) red wine
2 cups (473 ml) cranberry sauce
Juice of 2 blood oranges (or ½ cup of orange juice)
2 cups (220 g) chopped ham
Hot Honey, to garnish
2 cups (340 g) of stuffing 

Method
An hour before you place the dough in the pan, remove it and all your toppings from the refrigerator, so they reach room temperature. 

It’s time to stretch the dough out in the pan — this may take up to 40 minutes, resting halfway in between. Lightly coat your pan with olive oil. Place the dough in the pan and, using the tips of all your fingers to dimple and press outward, begin to stretch it out to the edges. Gently flip the dough and repeat. Rest the dough, then dimple and stretch the dough out to the edges, pulling the dough out to the very edge of each corner. Gently press the dough up against the edges of the pan to create the crust, and rest for another 30 minutes. 

Shred the turkey and soak it in gravy if this has not already been done. Mix the melted butter into the mashed potatoes until it is completely absorbed, then add in the cheese and mix thoroughly. 

In a saucepan over medium heat, add the gravy and red wine, reducing them to a nappant mixture (about ¾ cup).

In a saucepan over medium heat, add the cranberry sauce and juice. Cook for 5 minutes until thoroughly mixed and somewhat reduced. Pass through a sieve and reserve the liquid for dipping and a post-bake drizzle.

Fire up your Ooni pizza oven. Aim for 550°F (288°C) on the stone baking board inside. 

Spread the mashed potato and cheese mixture evenly over the surface of the stretched dough. It’s easiest to do this using two spoons (to scoop, scrape and gently press down) or small handfuls (about 65 grams each). Make sure it’s flat and spread out in a thin layer out just shy of the crust. 

Evenly distribute the pieces of chopped ham on top of the mashed potatoes, leaving enough space between the pieces so you can see as much potato as ham.

Drizzle the crust edge of the pizza with hot honey, then place the pie in the oven and bake it for 10 minutes. If using your Ooni oven, be sure to maintain a low flame and turn it halfway through). Once the crust has risen and begun to brown, remove it from the oven and place it on a heat-resistant workspace to finish building the pizza. 

Starting with any open spots, distribute the shredded turkey evenly over the surface of the pizza. Next, evenly top the pizza with rows of small dollops of stuffing (aim for 8 rows of 5 dollops). Return the pizza to the oven for 6 minutes (or until the crust is golden brown). If using an Ooni, turn halfway through.

Carefully remove the pizza from the oven and then use a wide spatula or fish turner to depan it to a cutting board. Using a ladle, spread thick lines of gravy along the entire pizza (don’t be shy). Drizzle the cranberry sauce over the pie (don’t overdo it, this should be an accent). Slice (3 by 4 squares for a 16-16 inch pan and 2 by 4 squares for a 12 by 18-inch pan) and enjoy!