What is “pizza”?
What is “pizza” and how did it come to be? Pizza-like food has been familiar to mankind since the Neolithic era, but modern pizza emerged from very similar bread flatbreads in Naples, in the 18th or early 19th century. These tortillas often had ingredients such as garlic, salt, lard, and cheese on them, and only later did they start adding tomatoes.
So, modern pizza is a dish made according to the following principles:
- made of dough based on flour, water and yeast;
- on the rolled dough are placed on top of various ingredients, of which the most classic are tomatoes and mozzarella;
- cook classic pizza in a wood-fired oven, although modern versions are of course also cooked in electric ovens.
It would seem simple. But is it really?
If you ask a person living in Rome what pizza tastes like in his city, he will describe it as crispy and thin, while a Neapolitan will talk about soft pizza, and for a Sicilian from Palermo, pizza would mostly be square, high, with lots of sauce.
Seventy-eight percent of the world’s residents say pizza is their favorite dish. This is due to the versatility of this dish. Pizza can be open or closed, with almost any toppings, large and small, hearty and low-calorie, it can be baked in any shape.
When people hear the word “Italy”, most of them imagine pizza. It is impossible to visit this country and not try this flavorful, delicious, nutritious and beautiful dish. Every region of Italy makes pizza in its own way. This does not change the fact that in Italy the most favorite certain types of pizza.
Italians are very conservative, strict about recipes that have become classics. One wrong action or inappropriate ingredient can immediately put a pizza in the category of wrong and almost inedible. Of course, there are many cafes and restaurants in Italy where chefs experiment with sauces, toppings and baking methods. Classic recipes, on the other hand, do not allow for experimentation and fantasy.
Margarita Pizza
Margarita is considered one of the most delicious pizzas in Italy. Its composition is very simple. This pizza requires tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. At the same time, its taste is unique and balanced. Some people think that pizza without bacon, sausage or meat can’t taste good, but they just haven’t tried the Margarita.
The recipe was invented in Naples in 1889. The pizza was named after the wife of King Umberto I. The dish is considered a truly royal, as a more concise, classic and mature recipe simply does not exist. True, the queen did not like the idea. She thought that eating such a dish was the destiny of the poor. The pizza never made it to the royal table, but it is a pleasure to eat more than one generation of people.
This pizza is not only often ordered in specialized institutions, but also cooked at home, as even a novice chef can cope with such a task.
Neapolitan pizza
The pizza is named after the city where it was first cooked – Naples. True gourmets and connoisseurs of Italian cuisine claim that you can taste the real Neapolitan pizza only there, because it requires high-quality local products.
Classic Neapolitan pizza is made thick on the edges and thin in the middle. It must be baked only in a stone oven on oak wood. If the Italians do not have special equipment, they will not even take on the preparation of this dish. Neapolitan pizza recipe refers to the classic, so change it and show imagination they are considered inadmissible.
The toppings for this pizza are ripe tomatoes, anchovies, basil or Italian herbs and mozzarella cheese. With tomatoes must be necessarily remove the skin. Replacing mozzarella cheese on cheaper varieties is not allowed. Then this pizza can no longer be called a classic Neapolitan pizza.
Pizza Marinara
Pizza Marinara does not have to be made with seafood. There is a hypothesis that it was named so after the fishermen who ate it every morning. This sauce made with tomatoes, olive oil, onions or garlic, could be preserved long enough, which was used by the sailors.
Now marinara is called a real delicacy using mussels, squid, shrimp, octopus tentacles, clams, tuna, salmon, and other seafood. They go well with hard cheese and olives. That is, there are many varieties of this pizza.
In some cafes and pizzerias, pizza Marinara is cooked with cream sauce instead of tomato sauce, which gives the finished dish a delicate taste.
Pizza Pulese
In Italy, this pizza is made in a region called Puglia. Sometimes this dish is called pula pizza.
This pizza is a real treat for onion lovers, because one ready pizza takes at least a quarter of a kilo of onions cut in half rings. They also add olives or capers that grow in Puglia. Fresh tomatoes, olive oil and first-rate hard cheese round out the flavors of this pizza.
Pugliese pizza is often ordered by vegetarians or ladies who are watching their figure.
Four Seasons Pizza
Four Seasons pizza is a favorite of those people who do not tolerate monotony. Traditionally, this dish is divided into 4 parts, each of which symbolizes a certain season of the year. Depending on which region of Italy the pizza was made in, the toppings may be different.
Traditionally, one part is layered with artichokes, another with cheese, tomatoes and herbs (classic Margarita recipe), the third – with ham or other meat and mushrooms, and the last is made with olives or pineapples.
In some cafes, you can find the Four Seasons pizza, made up of the most popular pizzas in that establishment. For example, they combine Margarita, Pepperoni, Neapolitan, and Four Cheeses pizzas. Often this version of the dish is ordered for a large group of friends, so that everyone can find something to their liking.
Four Cheeses.
Everyone is familiar with this pizza recipe, even if they don’t live in Italy. Fragrant, creamy, stretchy cheese combined with spices can leave few people indifferent. This variation of the dish is popular throughout the world.
This pizza was invented in Naples, and soon she became a favorite among gourmets, who considered it almost the most delicious pizza in the world. According to the classic recipe, the pizza originally had three kinds of cheese, and the fourth type the visitor could choose for himself, guided by his own taste. In the dish added cheeses Cheder, Fantina, Provola. Every year it became more and more expensive to buy these expensive kinds of cheese, and the quality was not always on the top.
It was decided to replace these cheeses with Mozzarella, Emmental and Parmesan. Lovers of something exotic are offered to put in a dish of Gorgonzola cheese. This is a very soft cheese with a blue patina that literally melts in the mouth.
Today’s pizzerias do not always put in the pizza exactly the above cheeses. Chefs use the following formula: the finished dish must have hard cheese, flavorful cheese, soft cheese and cheese with mold.
Sliced pizza.
This pizza is famous not for its taste and originality, but for its presentation. It is sold at street food stands. A slice of pizza is a quick and hearty snack. As a rule, it is released by weight.
The toppings in this dish are made in a wide variety. It can be a pizza with mushrooms, onions, artichokes, tomatoes, ham. Some fast-food cafes make classic variations of pizza, such as Margaritas or Four Cheeses, cut into slices and sell them by the piece.
Capricosa Pizza.
Capricosa pizza is a favorite of many Italians, without exaggeration. It was invented in a restaurant in Rome in the 50s of the 20th century. The pizza is named after the restaurant where it was first cooked. This dish will be appreciated by those who love pastries with lots of different toppings.
The dough for this dish is kneaded with yeast and milk to make a beautiful and appetizing golden crust. The dough should always be allowed to stand and rise.
For the filling, you take equal proportions of mushrooms and ceps, ham, artichokes, olives, hard cheese, tomatoes, garlic and aromatic herbs. In Rome, they traditionally add boiled eggs cut into slices to this dish.
Caution: Artichokes, even canned, is not easy to buy, not to mention fresh ones. If you can not get them, artichokes can be replaced with sweet peppers (can be fresh or canned).
The mushrooms are placed on the pizza lightly toasted in olive oil.
The dough should be rolled out and shaped by hand, and then placed in a hot oven for 5 minutes so that it slightly bakes on top. Next, you need to put the filling on the crust, and sprinkle the cheese on top. While cooking the pizza, it is important to make sure that the cheese melts but does not burn.
Calzone pizza
Calzone is a unique type of pizza that is baked closed. The dough is folded in half and the filling ends up inside.
This dish is popular as a snack in the southern regions of Italy. Calzone pizza is convenient to take with you as a snack to work or school, it looks beautiful to serve on the holiday table.
It’s quick and easy to make, which is why Calzone is often made by students and young people. It doesn’t require an oven or stove to bake it, just a medium-sized skillet in your arsenal.
The classic filling for this type of treat is sun-dried tomatoes and hard cheese. Somewhat later, sausage salami, red onions, dried or fresh mushrooms began to be added to the recipe.
Roll out the dough in a circle, grease the crust with sauce and put the filling on one side. The free layer of dough should cover the side with the filling, seal the edges with your fingers, giving the finished product a crescent shape. Sprinkle water or olive oil on top. It is either fried in a pan or baked in the oven.
Some fans of experiments make for this pizza sweet toppings. Fresh or frozen berries, nuts, candied fruits, jams, pineapples, honey, Nutella chocolate paste, yogurt are used for it. Sometimes a liqueur or cognac is added to such sweetness. It turns out very tasty and unusual. It’s worth noting that pizzas with sweet toppings are gaining popularity in Italy.
Diabola pizza
Its name speaks for itself. Diabolo pizza is for those who like savory, spicy dishes with lots of meat toppings.
It was originally made in Calabria. This area is territorially located south of Naples.
The world-famous jalapeño pepper is added to Diabola pizza, both fresh and pickled.
The secret of cooking this “fiery” pizza lies in a special spicy sauce. Diabola is the kind of pizza on which you can put as much toppings and sauce as you want. The juicier it turns out, the more intense the flavor will be in the end.
The dough for the “devil” pizza is kneaded with dry yeast and olive oil. Milk and egg do not need to be added. The dough should be as unleavened and simple as possible, as the whole beauty of this dish lies in its filling. The dough serves only as a kind of support for it.
The main ingredient for pizza is salami sausage. Sometimes thinly sliced mushrooms are added, or you can do without them. Also in the recipe is a hot pepper or jalapeno pepper, from which you need to remove the seeds and rinse thoroughly.
The pizza base is coated with hot sauce and the cheese is placed underneath, which is another secret of making this pizza. Salami, mushrooms and hot peppers are placed on top. Professional chefs cook this pizza only with protective gloves, because the juice from the peppers can get into a micro-crack on the hand, which will cause a very unpleasant feeling.