Four Seasons pizza (Italian: pizza quattro stagioni) is an internationally known, authentic Italian pizza. The four toppings represent the four seasons of the year, dividing the pizza into 4 equal quarters.
The most typical toppings for a 4 seasons pizza are ham or prosciutto to represent winter, mushrooms for autumn, and artichokes for spring. For summer, you can use ripe tomatoes, basil leaves, or bell peppers, or even a mix of these.
In this recipe, I show you how to make four seasons pizza at home, with probably the most widely used toppings. But you can, of course, change them to suit your own taste or use whatever you find in your pantry.
Tips for Making Four Seasons Pizza
- The amounts in this recipe yield 1 large 4 seasons pizza.
- You need 280 g (10 oz) of dough for a regular-size pizza, and 140 g (5 oz) for a small pizza.
- If you are making more than one pizza, cut the dough into equal pieces, about 10 oz or 280 g each, and form a ball for each one of your pizzas.
- As for the toppings, you can really use whatever you want and think represents the 4 seasons of the year. It will still be an authentic four seasons pizza, as there is no set recipe for this in Italy. The whole point is to represent the seasons and not to worry about the actual ingredients.
- See my pizza dough recipe for more details.
- Also learn how to shape your pizza at home.
Four Seasons Pizza Toppings Tips
To really enjoy homemade four seasons pizza, I recommend using quality products. I think one of the most important factors in making a real Italian pizza is using fewer toppings, but of excellent quality.
- Even though cured prosciutto is more associated with winter, I like to use ham. Italian prosciutto cotto (literally, cooked ham) is ideal for a 4 seasons pizza.
- For the mushrooms, you can use regular button mushrooms. I think Italian brown mushrooms are the best, though—they are basically immature portobello mushrooms.
- Use ripe, sweet tomatoes. Believe me, they really make a difference.
- If you don’t want the hassle of preparing fresh artichokes (or you can’t get them), just use canned artichoke hearts. They have a slight vinegary taste, but that goes well with your four seasons pizza.
- As I said before, use whatever you find at home to represent the 4 seasons of the year.
Four Seasons Pizza
Ingredients
- 10 oz pizza dough 280 g
- 4 tbsp tomato purée (passata) 66 g
- extra virgin olive oil a few drops
- 1 pinch dried oregano
- 1 pinch salt
- 5 ½ oz fresh mozzarella cheese 150 g
- 1 slice prosciutto cotto cooked ham, about 35 g or 1.2 oz
- 1 medium Italian brown mushroom about 40 g or 1.4 oz
- 1 smaller ripe tomato about 35 g or 1.2 oz
- 1 ½ canned artichoke hearts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to the highest heat possible.
- Form the pizza dough into a ball. Start by making a circular motion with the palm of your hand, with a little pressure. Then release the pressure gradually until you get a nice ball shape. Put the dough ball on a lightly floured work surface. Dust it with a little more flour, and let it proof, covered with a kitchen towel, for another 15 minutes.
- Shape your dough into a large, thin disk and place it in a pizza pan.
- Put the tomato purée (passata) on the pizza dough, in the middle. Using the back of a spoon or a ladle, with circular motions toward the edges, make sure the tomato covers the dough. Leave an edge about 1 inch (2-3 cm) wide.
- Add mozzarella cheese. Just tear it into bite-size pieces and place them over the tomato sauce. Drizzle a few drops of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with some dried oregano and salt.
- Cut the mushrooms and tomatoes into 1/4-1/5 inch (5-6 mm) slices. Cut the artichoke hearts into 8 pieces. Tear the ham into bite-size pieces. Your toppings should go on each quarter of your 4 seasons pizza: one quarter for the ham, another for the mushrooms, the third for the tomato, and the last quarter for the artichokes.
- Transfer your four seasons pizza to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned.
Tried this recipe? Let us know how it was!