DID YOU KNOW?
Pizza originally was a dish of the poor people sold in the street, not considered a kitchen recipe for a long time. In the 16th century in Naples, a Galette flat bread was referred to as pizza. Until the late 19th Century pizza was actually sweet not savoury. Earlier versions which were savoury more resembled flatbread as we know it now.
The popular ‘Margherita’ pizza named after the Italian Queen was garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil to represent the colour of the Italian Flag. The dish continued to gain popularity and soon pizza became a tourist attraction as visitors to Naples ventured into the poorer areas of the city to try the local specialty.
Pizza first made its appearance in the the United States in the late 19 century with the arrival of Italian immigrants. There are many varieties of pizza toppings. Our family favourite is the quattro formaggi. This pizza is know as a white pizza (Pizza Bianca)- without tomato base. Flatbreads baked with toppings date back to Roman times. It wasn’t until the 1800s that Italians added tomato sauce and cheese.
What is your favourite Pizza?
Have a look below at a few favourites:
Pizza Marinara: Sprinkle the top of the pizza with 2 cloves of very thinly sliced garlic before it goes in the oven. Pizza Romana: Top the pizza with some anchovy fillets before it goes in the oven. Sometimes capers are added too. Curiously, this pizza is known as pizza napoletana in Rome, where it is made with a thicker crust, baked in a square baking pan and cut with scissors.
Pizza Quattro Staggione: Once again, ingredients vary widely, but each should ingredient should be representative of one of the four seasons. Try olives (winter), artichoke hearts (spring), tomato (summer) and mushrooms (autumn). Place each ingredient on one quarter of the pizza.
Pizza ai Quattro Formaggi: Mix together fresh mozzarella, shredded fontina, crumbled Gorgonzola and grated Parmigiano and sprinkle evenly over the pizza with tomato sauce before baking. Quattro formaggi can be made as a white pizza (pizza bianca) without tomato sauce.
Pizza Pugliese: Top with a can of drained, crumbled tuna packed in oil and thinly sliced red onions.
Pizza al Prosciutto: After the pizza comes out of the oven, lay very thin slices of prosciutto over the top.
Pizza Prosciutto e Funghi: Saute some thinly sliced mushrooms in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle them over the top of the pizza before baking. After the pizza comes out of the oven, lay very thin slices of prosciutto over the top.
Pizza con le Verdure: Top with grilled vegetables like eggplant, peppers, zucchini, onions.