Positanese is a raw-salsa pizza from Positano on the Amalfi coast. It skips the cooked tomato sauce most people know and uses chopped, marinated fresh tomatoes instead — half added during cooking, half added after. The result is bright, sweet, and lightly smoky from the crust.
The recipe here comes from London pizzeria Franco Manca’s cookbook, Artisan Pizza to Make Perfectly at Home. The owners credit Italian actor and playwright Eduardo di Filippo for teaching it to them — in their kitchen it is still called “pizza a la Eduardo.”
It starts with the tomatoes
A cooked tomato sauce can mask mediocre tomatoes. This pizza cannot. You need ripe, fruity, sweet tomatoes — the kind that taste like late summer. If yours are not great, save this one for August. 
The salsa is made ahead: peel, seed, and chop the tomatoes, drain them with salt for twenty minutes to lose the watery juice, then marinate with crushed garlic, olive oil, torn basil, and pepper for at least two hours. Half goes on before cooking; the other half is reserved and added at the end.
No pizza stone required
Franco Manca’s method uses a 10-inch cast-iron pan on the stovetop, then transfers to a preheated broiler on the top rack. Three minutes on the stove to firm the dough, three to four under the broiler to blister and char. The cast iron crisps the bottom; the broiler blisters the top. That is the whole trick.
If you do not have cast iron, any oven-safe heavy skillet works. You are aiming for high, direct heat from below and aggressive radiant heat from above.
Cheese is flexible
Traditional Positanese gets Parmesan — grated or shaved — added at the end with the reserved cold salsa. But Franco Manca’s book encourages experimenting: mozzarella, ricotta, roquefort, gruyere, provolone, caciocavallo all work. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few fresh basil leaves.
Make the dough ahead
This recipe uses one fermented dough ball, risen for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Use your favorite pizza dough recipe (24 hours of cold fermentation is ideal), or follow Franco Manca’s dough method — their book walks through sourdough starter, hydration, and temperatures in detail.
Serve the pizza whole or cut into slices, with a cold beer or a crisp Italian white. Then make another one.
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Positanese Pizza: Raw Tomato Pizza from the Amalfi Coast
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Yield: 1 pizza 1x
Description
Create an authentic Italian pizza at home with a sourdough crust and a fresh tomato salsa, inspired by the Positanese style from the Amalfi coast.
Ingredients
Pizza base (makes 1 pizza):
- 1 dough ball, left to rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours (use your favorite recipe or follow the Franco Manca book, page 16)
- Flour, for dusting
Positanese tomato salsa (per pizza — prep in advance):
- 2 medium very ripe, sweet tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves, torn, plus more for garnish
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
To finish:
- Assorted cheeses: mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan Reggiano, roquefort, gruyere, provolone, or caciocavallo
- Olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
Pizzette option:
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil, for frying small dough rounds at 350°F (175°C)
Instructions
Make the salsa:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from the heat. Add the tomatoes and leave for about 3 minutes, until their skins start to wrinkle. Peel and seed the tomatoes, then finely chop.
- Place the chopped tomatoes in a sieve, add the 1/2 tsp salt, and leave to drain over a bowl for about 20 minutes. Discard the juice.
- Transfer the drained tomatoes to a large bowl with the crushed garlic, olive oil, torn basil, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Marinate for at least 2 hours (or refrigerate up to 2 days; bring back to room temperature before using). You want about 4 tbsp total salsa per pizza.
- Divide the salsa into two bowls and set one aside (reserved for finishing).
Assemble and cook:
- Place a rack on the highest shelf of your oven and turn the broiler to its highest setting. Heat a greased 10-inch cast-iron pan on the stovetop over medium heat.
- Dust your hands and work surface with flour. Open the dough ball by flattening and stretching it with your fingers, or by rolling with a rolling pin. Pick the base up and gently stretch it further over your fists — without tearing — to the size of the pan.
- Drop the dough into the hot pan and allow it to start rising. As soon as the dough firms up, spread about 2 tbsp of the tomato salsa over the base using the back of a metal spoon.
- Cook on the stovetop for about 3 minutes, then transfer the pan to the broiler for another 3–4 minutes, until the crust is blistered and the edges are charred.
- Remove from the oven. Add 2 tbsp of the reserved room-temperature salsa, scatter over your choice of cheese (grated or shaved Parmesan works beautifully), and finish with extra basil and a drizzle of olive oil if you like.
- Serve whole or sliced.
Notes
You need very good tomatoes for this raw salsa — look for super-sweet and fruity ones. Let the salsa marinate at least 2 hours so the flavors meld; overnight is even better.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 600
- Fat: 15
- Carbohydrates: 45
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 12
- Cholesterol: 25
