From A-list celebrities to locals and tourists, Chef Mark Iacono has been serving up delicious brick oven pies at Lucali in Brooklyn and its location in Miami, which just celebrated 10 years.
"I'm still trying to figure out why people like it so much. I think it's more about the sauce -- and the quality ingredients we use," he told "Good Morning America."
The chef-owner joined "GMA" on Thursday to share his staple recipes for a plain, traditional 14-inch pizza and kale salad.
"What we do a little different than most pizzerias is we roll our dough out with a wine bottle," he said. "Just start from the center and work your way out."
Check out the full recipes below.
For folks who are intimidated by the dough, Iacono suggests "go to your local pizzeria and buy the dough."
Ingredients
Dough:
33.6 ounces water
3 1/2 pounds flour
0.3 ounces yeast
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons salt
Mark crafts his infamous Lucali red sauce in-house, which he uses when making every pie.
Sauce:
3 ounces marinara sauce of choice
Mark always suggests using buffalo mozzarella cheese, but if not, some fresh mozzarella is just as great!
Cheese:
3 ounces low moisture mozzarella
1.5 ounces buffalo mozzarella (or fresh mozzarella)
Parmesan cheese block
Extras:
Fresh basil leaves
Directions
Dough:
Put room temperature water in a large mixing bowl.
Remove a cup of water and dissolve the salt in it.
Add the yeast in the mixing bowl and dissolve, then add your olive oil and stir.
Add 25% of your flour to the water and mix until smooth.
Add the salt water and mix for approximately 15 seconds, then add the remaining flour.
Mix/knead for approximately 10 minutes. When finished kneading, cover dough with plastic wrap and let rest for 45 minutes.
Cut the dough into eight 10-ounce balls.
Baste with EVOO, then cover with saran wrap and let rise in the refrigerator for six hours to overnight.
Pie steps:
Preheat the oven to bake at 500 F.
In the meantime, grab a ball of dough and begin to roll out the dough on top of a lightly floured
countertop, beginning in the center and rolling outwards.
Pizza hack: Mark uses an unlabeled wine bottle to roll out the dough!
Once rolled out, carefully place the dough on a baking sheet.
Add a heavy spoonful of your red sauce to the center of the dough and begin spreading the
sauce to the edges using circular movements with the backside of your spoon.
Top with shaved pieces of low moisture mozzarella, then add pieces of the buffalo mozzarella
with your hands.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven, until the edges of the pizza are crispy.
Add grated Parmesan cheese on top and fresh basil leaves.
"When doing kale salad you want to massage it for at least a minute -- it will tenderize it," the chef said.
Ingredients
Kale, 2 cups per serving
4 ounces kale dressing (yields 1 1/2 cups, or 4 servings of 4 ounces)
1 cup mayo
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
2 tablespoons water
Directions
Wash kale and remove stems.
Cut or tear kale into 1-inch pieces.
Add dressing and toss.
Finish with some fresh lemon juice and pecorino.
