Skillet pizza

WHEN the esteemed New York chef Mario Batali opened a pizzeria called Otto early this year, it was the talk of the city. Everybody had to try Mario’s pizza -- which, with Batali’s usual showmanship, was completely different from any other pizza in New York. It was cooked on a griddle instead of in a blazing oven.

Night after night, crowds pressed in the door, willing to wait hours for a slice of the superstar chef’s new creation. And then the assessments started to roll in: Mario’s griddle pizza was mercilessly panned. The problem was the crust -- tough and heavy, they said. “This Pie Doesn’t Fly,” the New York Post sneered. One critic, William Grimes of the New York Times, observed dryly that Otto was “the only pizzeria in New York where it’s possible to skip the pizza entirely.”

And yet, we knew Mario was on to something.

Because no matter what you’ve heard about the glories of the brick oven, the coal fire, the pizza stone or any other pizza-inferno lore, the truth is you can make an astonishingly good pizza on your stove top.

We’ve been doing it for years -- with a skillet. And we’re not talking about making any compromises: This is pizza with a perfect blistered crust, crisp and slightly charred, just thick enough for a soft interior with some real flavor.

If you’ve had Mario’s, you will marvel all the more: This one is infinitely better.

And it’s easy.

Start with the pizza dough. Many are hard to work with. They usually require at least five minutes of kneading plus a long proofing time to develop a good flavor and gluten structure. In the end, you get a crust that’s heavy and chewy.

This dough supplies all the right qualities of a good pizza crust -- including a touch of honey and olive oil for flavor -- but the best thing about it is how easy it is to handle and how quickly you can get it to the table.

After a short time in an electric mixer, it’s kneaded just enough to remove the stickiness.

Now, the pan. We use a 10-inch straight-sided nonstick skillet. The idea is, you’re going to create an oven that cooks from the bottom up.

Heat the skillet on medium-low until a drop of water sizzles and dances across the surface. Then turn down the heat to low and add just enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. You can use a paper towel if you work quickly and carefully. (If you’d like to add another layer of flavor, sizzle a couple of whole cloves of garlic in the oil first.)

Roll out the dough into a 10-inch circle, then lift it into in the pan. Pat it into the corners, and cover the skillet with a lid for a minute or two, until the dough bubbles up and looks slightly dry. Remove the lid and keep on cooking until the bottom is golden brown.

All that’s left is to flip it with a pancake turner (a lot easier than flipping a pancake, because the dough is so sturdy) and add whatever toppings you like.

Don’t cover the pan again unless you need more heat to melt cheese. At this point, covering the pizza will soften the crust somewhat. As soon as the bottom crust is browned, you’re all through.

And there it is: a sophisticated, thin-crust pizza. It’s fantastic with the simplest assortment of toppings -- even just a dusting of Parmesan with some mushrooms and olives brought raves.

One with black kale, sausage and Manchego was even better. But experiment -- it’s hard to go wrong. Just don’t top it too heavily, or your crust will go soggy.

Mario, go buy a skillet.