The bakeries I’ve been banned from in Naples

The city of Naples dates back to the 2nd Millennium BC. Visited for its rich history, jaw-dropping seaside views and stunning architecture, Napoli's full potential is however still underappreciated.

In addition to its elegant buildings, sense of style and historic sites, Naples is a superlative food destination.

While pizza is the first food-association, the city's pastry scene is equally tantalizing. So much so that my nutritionist has issued a restraining order that prohibits me from returning too often to the city's historical pastry outlets.

Here is a list of bakeries in Naples I've been banned from (and where I nonetheless go as often as I can).

Antica Pasticceria Vincenzo Bellavia

This native Sicilian bakery at its fouth generation since 1925 is where Neapolitans stop for breakfast or to pick up top-notch cannoli, cassata as well as a wide variety of traditional Neapolitan pastries and gelato, plus classic or gluten-free desserts, holiday creations, spumoni and more. My guilty pleasure here is the Mery Mou cake, a caramel and meringue production topped with whipped cream and crunchy chocolate pralines. The variety and the quality of products put family-run Bellavia among the city's best, with four city-wide locations, including one in the Naples Capodichino airport.

Pasticceria Salvatore Capparelli

While enjoying a beautiful view of Piazzetta San Gaetano not far from Basilica di San Paolo Maggiore, I like to linger with Signora Pina, peacefully putting away the shop's fine selection of traditional pastries like parigine, zeppole and ventagli. Capparelli's best insight into the true taste of Naples is however their babà. The pillowy mushroom-shaped levened pastry is baked and then soaked in a simple syrup and rum blend, and is one of the city's symbolic desserts. Babà can be plain, or filled with sweetened whipped cream, pastry cream, and even ricotta cream, topped with macerated cherries or fresh berries.

Carraturo

Founded in 1837, this is one of my favorite and less glitzy bakeries in Naples. Usually after a slow passeggiata from the Archeological Museum, passing by the Contemporary Madre Museum, I head east to busy Piazza di Porta Capuana (old city stone gate with triumphal carvings) just to stop at Carraturo, and then virtually feel my blood sugar spike. Round occhio di bue shortbread biscuits, babà, pastiera and other classic Neapolitan specialties are always served with a smile. A fine cup of espresso coffee completes the offer.

Gran Caffè Cimmino

Well known for its aromatic espresso, this is where locals can rely on for their zeppole. A word about these delightful pastries: Zeppole di San Giuseppe are baked (or fried) in the days leading up to San Giuseppe (the feast of St. Joseph, on March 19th, Italian Father's Day). These are ring-shaped choux pastry that once baked/fried are sliced open and filled with lemon-scented pastry cream and topped with syrupy amarena cherries. Obviously the fried zeppole are better. Cimmino has two branches, one on Via Filangieri and the other, with gulf and Mt Vesuvius views, on posh Via Petrarca. Both shops have issued a court order against me for excessive patronage.

Gran Caffe Gambrinus

Located at the intersection of Piazza Plebiscito, classy via Chiaia and the royal palace of Naples, with its own Teatro San Carlo opera house, the historic cafè has been a haunt for intellectuals, politicians, and bon vivants since 1860. Reminiscent of the elegant Belle Epoque coffee houses of Vienna or Paris, illustrious Italian celebrities––like poet Gabriele D'Annunzio and philosopher Benedetto Croce, as well as international personalities such as Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway––shaped the country's culture while munching on buttery tea-time biscotti.

Mazz

When ricotta and cream are whipped together with poached pears and then sandwiched between speculoos-type hazelnut biscotti, you get a delicious local cake called ricotta e pera. While the crunchy crust pushes out the soft center when bitten into it, the contrast in textures and delightful taste make this one of my favorite Napolitan cakes. I have found the best ricotta e pera to be served at Mazzaro, which recently changed its name to Mazz. Located on Via dei Tribunali, the bakery sits under the archway with the bronze Pulcinella head. Their zuppa inglese (a sort of trifle) isn't bad either!

Mennella

Way back in 1969, Antonio Mennella set up his pastry shop in Torre del Greco. Fast forward 40+ years later when the founder's sons Vincenzo, Giuseppe and Roberto's passion turned those humble beginnings into a booming pastry and gelato business, opening 5 city-wide shops and a modern centralized bakery lab where their traditional and modern creations come to life.

Moccia

In the spring of 1936, inheriting her parents' passion for bread baking, Signora Giuseppina Moccia opened a panificio on Via Roccella, now called Via Carducci. When in 2014 the San Pasquale branch of the family franchise closed, we worshippers of their signature pizzette and sweets were in shock for months. The Posillipo store still bakes amazing Caprese, Pastiera, Delizia al Limone and other classic cakes, including a ring shaped babà cake that's not to be believed. A satellite business called Moccia 1936 recently opened by ex-Moccia employees on Via Benedetto Croce, that focuses on the savory signature pizzetta di Moccia.

Poppella

In the heart of the Rione Sanità, in business since 1920, family-run Pasticceria Poppella is where university students and musicians on a break between solfeggios at the conservatory come for Fiocco di Neve (a brioche bun filled with a cream whose recipe is kept secret), Calice di San Gennaro and Bombetta di Totò (white and dark chocolate dipped babà filled with cream), torta Napulè and more. With the third generation now at the helm, in 2016 Poppella opened a second branch on via Santa Brigida, at a stone's throw from the Maschio Angioino castle, Galleria Umberto I and Teatro San Carlo.

Scaturchio

Locals and dessert lovers in Naples flock to the city's oldest pasticceria for cakes like pastiera––a sweet semolina tart filled with orange blossom flavored-ricotta––that's still made according to the century-old original recipe. It's the Ministeriale however that fully represents the 1905 brand. This dark chocolate disk with creamy liqueur, ricotta and hazelnut filling was invented in 1919 by Francesco Scaturchio for the singer diva who went by the name of Anna Fougez (her real name was Maria Annina Laganà Pappacena). The success of the praline urged its creator to request the title of supplier for the royal house of Savoy, for which he underwent a grueling bureaucratic procedure at various ministries; which gave the chocolate the name "Ministeriale."

Voglia di Graffa

Under the city of Naples is another polis. Going under street level allows to visit areas of urban development from the city's early beginnings to the present day. See the remains of the Greco-Roman aqueduct and the Roman theater in an underground journey spanning 2,400 years of history, from the ancient Greeks to the present day, revealing the "belly" of Naples from an archaeological, historical, anthropological and geological point of view. When you emerge back in Via dei Tribunali, reward yourself with a graffa, a typical Italian fried donut, made with potato in the dough. Voglia di Graffa is a teeny take-out place that offers made-to-order donuts: warm, delicious and tremendously caloric.

"Napoli tre cose tene 'e belle: 'o sole, 'o mare e 'a sfugliatella"

I feel sfogliatella deserves its own story.

If the rum-soaked babà is king, sfogliatella is the queen of Napoli's traditional pastries. There are three versions of sfogliatella: riccia, frolla and Santa Rosa.

The crust of the riccia ("ruffled") is unique: layers of phyllo-style pastry are each slathered with a thin veil of rendered lard and rolled very thin. The obtained pastry dough is then shaped into a clam-like shell and filled with a custardy mixture of semolina, sweetened ricotta, eggs, sugar, candied citrus and a hint of cinnamon. When baked, the layers separate and become crisp, giving the sfogliatella its characteristic ridged look. Icing sugar sprinkled on top completes these messy bites.

Sfogliatella frolla, on the other hand, pasta frolla (shortbread crust) instead of the flaky layered one of the riccia. The filling remains the same, while the smooth buttery crust is round and dome-shaped.

Sfogliatella Santa Rosa is essentially a riccia topped with pastry cream and pitted cherries macerated in syrup.

I eat sfogliatella any time I can, and in Naples any self-respecting bakery will have their own version. After extensive research, I have pared down my favorite sfogliatelle to the following bakeries:

Photo © thesooper.it

Fratelli Attanasio

At a stone's throw from the Napoli Centrale train station, wedged in a tiny alley, is a pastry shop that focuses its production on sfogliatelle of all kinds. In business since 1930, Attanasio’s particularity is the always hot "parking" oven where sfogliatelle are kept warm and dusted with icing sugar at the very last moment.

Photo © thesooper.it

Pintauro

This place has been serving sfogliatelle since 1785. Pasquale Pintauro is the name of the pastry chef that started selling them after acquiring the original ancient recipe devised by the nuns of the cloistered convent of Santa Rosa in Conca dei Marini, on the Amalfi Coast, dating back to the 1600s.

Photo © thesooper.it

Sfogliatella Mary

This is a tiny bakery located at the western (via Toledo) entrance to Naples' oldest shopping mall, the Galleria Umberto, which sits opposite Teatro San Carlo. The queue outside this hole in the wall betrays the quality of the sfogliatelle. Their frolle are without a doubt the best in town.

To thoroughly appreciate sfogliatelle, it's of paramount importance to eat them straight out of the oven while still warm. A warning, though: in the rapture of the scent of sugar and cinnamon, please avoid voraciously biting into them carelessly like I usually do: the pastry shell is warm, but the ricotta filling is volcanic.

If writing about Naples and my pastry addiction, I wouldn't be doing justice to either if I concluded without mentioning chocolate.

My favorite temples of cioccolato in Naples are:

Image © napolistories.it

Gay-Odin

The historical chocolatier founded in 1894 is the dream come true of Isidoro Odin, a masterful confectioner who moved to the city from the north of Italy, and his wife Onorina Gay, both attracted by the vibrant cultural animation that Naples offered in that period. Gay-Odin has grown and now has nine shops across the city, and one in Milan and another dangerously located 2 block from my house in Rome. The various chocolate pralines, chocolate bars and signature sweets are still produced with the same artisanal expertise. Favorite creations include Foresta, chocolate bark made of milk chocolate, and the Vesuvio, shaped and named after the nearby dormant volcano.

Antica Cioccolateria Parlato

The small shop at Via Chiaia 237 is a bit dark and cramped, but the cozy environment is saturated with the sweet smell of cocoa filling the room. A place that truly maintains faith to its name. In fact, Antica Cioccolateria Parlato is not only in its original location, but also keeps the same artisan vocation, including in the small streetside display window, the signage, the counter, wooden shelves, and glass bowls filled with chocolate pralines, liqueur chocolates, bars and delicious "confetti" sugared almonds that beg to be perused.

Casa Infante

True, this place falls in the gelateria category, but it cannot go unmentioned. Originating in the 1940s, the family-run gelateria boasts fine homemade flavors such as chocolate, caramel, and creamy white chocolate, and seasonal delights like walnuts from Sorrento, cantaloupe melon and Amalfi lemon. I have been banned from the Piazza Vanvitelli store for having abused of thier cheesecake flavor that came served with cascading blackberries, blueberries, redcurrants, cookies and strawberries, and from the Via Chiaia branch for ordering too many jars of layered caramel speculoos cookie flavor topped with Lotus cream...

Il Vero Bar del Professore

Il Vero Bar del Professore's famous caffè nocciolato del Professore is an espresso topped with hazelnut cream. I just want you to know that in winter time this sweet delight can also come served in a stubby wafer gelato cone lined with dark chocolate…

What's your favorite pastry shop/bakery in Naples?

Naples and Amalfi Coast travel tips

The urban sprawl of Naples can feel tattered, anarchic and forsaken. But look beyond the grime and graffiti and you’ll see a city of breathtaking beauty, chock with dramatic skies, panoramas and art. You’ll discover its elegance, engage in spontaneous conversations with locals and be surprised at the city’s profound humanity.

The Amalfi Coast and Sorrento Peninsula is one of Italy's most sought-after destinations. Famous writers have long waxed poetic about the curvy coastline that runs from Sorrento to Salerno. Swedish doctor and author Axel Munthe built a villa on Capri. Henrik Ibsen moved from Norway to Sorrento, where he wrote his renowned play Ghosts. Italy-lover Goethe called this sliver of southern Italy the "magic land of endless sun where lemons bloom." In the early Fifties American novelist John Steinbeck fell in love with Positano and begged people to keep the secret.

We've singled out our best advice and travel tips for traveling to Naples and the Amalfi Coast in 2017.

Continue reading our top 12 travel tips for 2017 ➔

Avanzi, Italy's glorious leftovers

You know me. I'm the one fixated with not throwing away food. I so firmly believe in recycling leftovers that I purposely cook in larger quantities than needed in order to have uneaten food to work with later.

After a sad few days of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apple, toast)––my son and I caught the stomach bug of 2016 late––I needed something to revive my depressed taste buds.

So for dinner yesterday I "made" two sensational Southern Italian dishes with avanzi. Made is actually too bold of a term, let's say I transformed leftover spaghetti into Neapolitan frittata di maccheroni and day-old green beans into Sicilian fagiolini alla muddica.

A week ago I made enough Puttanesca for 10 (there were 7 guests, 3 of which kids) so naturally I had a bowl of it sitting in the back of the fridge. The sauce made with this summer's pommarola, brined olives and minuscule capers from Pantelleria stuck to the noodles and was still fragrant. I didn't have to think twice: frittata di maccheroni. Every Neapolitan homemaker has this recipe in their repertoire.

I loosened the spaghetti from their bowl-shape and mixed in 4 beaten eggs.
I transferred the slippery mix to a heavy-bottomed pan with just a drizzle of olive oil and gently heated for about 5 minutes, until a delicious crust started forming on the bottom. My mother's trick is beating one more egg with salt and pepper and pouring it on the surface. This helps set the frittata.
I covered the pan for another 2 minutes, checking that the bottom didn't darken too much: browned frittata is dry and disgusting.
At this point of cooking frittata you have to be resourceful for the flipping portion of the recipe.
I use a lipless lid and good balancing skills to slide the uncooked side back into the pan.
On the whole, another plus is that this dish takes about 10-12 minutes to make. So while wisely thrifty, you're also budgeting time.

But my recycled carbs with high-protein needed a vegetal side. I glanced at the handful of yesterday's steamed green beans sitting suffocated under a plastic wrap cover. I reached in for the bowl and let the contents warm to room temperature on the countertop while I made the seasoned breadcrumbs.

I have a small fabric pouch where all my bread corners, broken breadsticks and uneaten slices fall into. This is what's known around the house as the Pangrattato Pouch. All the hardened bits of sourdough in there become breadcrumbs. I transfer the amount needed in a sturdy airtight plastic bag and arm myself with a rolling pin. I seal the bag and bash the hunks of bread to the desired powder grain. I prefer coarse. To the ziploc I then add powdered herbs, seasoned salt and a fistful of polenta (cornmeal) for crunch.

I toasted the breadcrumbs with olive oil and 2 cloves of garlic. A salt-saving, flavor-boosting trick is adding 2-3 oil-packed anchovies and working them into the crumbs with the tines of a fork. When the breadcrumbs clumped together to a crispy crumble, I added the green beans, tossing to coat and heat through. I didn't need to adjust seasoning, so I served immediately.

A tavola!

Welcome to Casa Mia!

Sit, make yourself comfortable while I uncork the wine and fix us a something to eat, because I have big news for you.

Over that past few months I have worked hard at fulfilling a dream.

I have teamed up with two food professionals – who also happen to be my friends – and co-founded a food, wine and cooking association together!

My partners Gina and Elizabeth and I are happy to toast to our brand new venture! Casa Mia | Italy Food & Wine Tours intends to give visitors to Italy unique, local culinary experiences. We will be leading Italy lovers on delicious food & wine tastings, hosting cooking classes in our homes, and marching on exclusive culinary excursions in and around Rome, Naples, Florence and several areas of Sicily.

So, all you food lovers out there planning an Italy vacation, be sure to check out our new website: Casa Mia and our Blog for expert Italy travel inspiration, savvy advice and exciting food & wine adventures.

Be sure to also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, YouTube and Google+ plus don't forget to subscribe to our e-Newsletter to stay up to date on upcoming news and events. And tell your friends!

The food is on the table, so… a tavola!

Ziti alla Genovese recipe

This delectable pasta recipe is called "alla genovese," but it's not a dish particular to Genoa. This is a purely Neapolitan delight.

If you've been reading my posts, you'll know I always share a little bit of history. "La Genovese" is said to have been first prepared around the time when Columbus landed in the New World, by a selected group of Genoan chefs belonging to the rich and self-implemented Ligurian colony stationed in the Naples seaport district. It's the pasta condiment customarily made for Sunday lunch, and one of my all-time Napoli favorites. In detailing a Pasta primer a few months back, I had promised to post the recipe. Well, here it is.

Note: For its hearty and bold nature, weak stomachs and delicate appetites should abstain from consuming genovese in sight of a busy afternoon (or one that doesn't envision napping).


2 kg (4.4 lbs) of yellow onions
1 kg (2.2 lbs) of rump steak, chopped into stew size parts
250 g (1 1/4 cups) unsmoked bacon, diced
250 g (1/2 lb) pork spare ribs
1 carrot
1 celery rib
2 glasses of dry white wine
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
2 cups of Ziti (or Penne Lisce) type pasta

Tip: This recipe requires extremely long cooking time, the longer you stew, the softer the meat will be and tastier the sauce.

Dice the carrot and celery and place in the pot with the oil and the meats. Thinly slice the onion holding a chunk of bread in your mouth to avoid tears and add it to the other ingredients.

Cover and simmer over vivacious heat until the onions are translucent and all liquid evaporates. When the onion mash starts to dry, pour the first glass of wine and lower the heat to extremely low. Stir occasionally and stew for 50 minutes.

Then add the second glass of wine, salt and pepper to taste, and keep braising for 2 hours, being extra careful that the sauce doesn’t stick to the pot floor. The result should be a thick, dark velvety purée and a tender meat stew.

This heavenly pasta sauce marries boiled al dente Ziti pasta, broken into 3-inch pieces, richly dressed and generously dusted with grated Parmigiano.

You can serve the stewed meat–or what's left of it after the long cooking–as your dinner entrée, alongside a fresh arugula and shaved fresh fennel salad. But remember, the star dish in the meal is the genovese.

Serves 5/6 big eaters.

Pasta e patate recipe

Don't let the name fool you, pasta with potatoes is a soup. Thick and hearty, but still, a soup.

It is usually prepared with pasta mista (pasta ammescata in Neapolitan dialect), which has recently been produced industrially as a distinct variety of pasta, but which was once sold cheaply by weight, made up of odd broken pieces of various different shapes of pasta.

The traditional cooking method for this kind of soup consists in cooking the condiments first, making the base of the soup, then throwing in the pasta. While cooking with all the other ingredients, the pasta retains precious starches, which would have been lost if normally cooked separately in salty water and then drained. Cooking pasta together with vegetables makes the sauce creamier; as a bonus, adding the secret ingredient* makes this a 100% authentic cucina povera specialty.

500 g (1.1 lb) small tubetti or mis-matched pasta (you can make your own with odd leftover pasta shapes, provided they all share the same cooking time)
500 g (1.1 lb) russet potatoes (best if old!), peeled and cubed
1 glass of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 white onion, minced
1 celery rib, minced
1 quart of beef broth
*200 g (1 cup) smoked provola, diced (can be substituted with any smoked semi-soft cheese)
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large stewpot equipped with a tight fitting lid. Sauté the onion and garlic and when they begin to tan, add the celery, simmer lightly, and season with salt and pepper.

Pour in 2 ladles of stock and add the cubed potatoes. Gently simmer over medium-low heat, and bear in mind the potatoes mustn’t purée.

Add the raw pasta and cook as you would risotto, ladling in broth a little at a time as it absorbs. The degree of thickness is determined by this key step. Too much stock will make your soup too liquid, too little will result in a soggy "neither fish nor flesh" dish. Keep hearty Italian minestre like Ribollita in mind as a texture model.

When the pasta is cooked through, rank up the heat and toss in the diced smoked cheese, stirring constantly. Cover and let the cheese melt and form lovely long springy ribbons.

One last turn of the peppermill and devour while still burning hot.

Pizza Part 3

Welcome back to part 3 of La Pizza series.

So far we've eaten our way through

An introduction to pizza and the history behind Italy's most famous food
Various kinds of Italian pizza and popular toppings

Today we will be closing this pizza series with a virtual tour of the birthplace of pizza, a brief stroll down the dimly lit alleyways of Napoli, for one last slice of authentic pizza and a nosedive in la vita napoletana.

The best pizza in the world is probably at Da Michele

There’s a pizzeria half-hidden away in Napoli’s dark alleys of the seedy central train station area, that serves perhaps the best pizza in the world. Da Michele is a small joint, and always a crowded one. Not even paper tablecloths on the small marble tabletops, and the glasses are all different, some are worn out around the rim from having been washed so many times. Two pizzas on the verbal menu only, marinara and margherita, three sizes each: small, regular and monster. Beverages available are mineral water, Italian beer, sodas. The prices are ridiculously low, and the line outside is unbelievable. The first time I went there, introduced by locals who acted like they were initiating me to a secret society meeting–complete with code handshake and solemn nods–it was a rainy autumn night. After a 20-minute wait outside standing under flimsy umbrellas, we were finally assigned a table by the oven, and while our order of pizzas was in the oven, I got to watch the pizzaiolo’s skills up close. When the food arrived, we clinked beer mugs to friendship and attacked our monsters.

As I moaned with pleasure, biting into my steaming slice of exquisite margherita, I saw what looked like disappointment on the faces of the napoletani sitting around me. They shook their heads and tsk tsk tsk-ed noisily. Our waiter hovered over our small table, apologetic. I didn’t know what the heck was going on, moderately devoid of all that was happening, I ate away, estatic at a pizza the likes I had never had before. What got my attention finally was that none of my friends were eating! Was I not in on something? 

Apparently the rainy night’s damp air had done something dreadful to the dough, tainting it, in their expert opinion. I found it divine, and no matter how much they insisted on the opposite, I ended up eating their leftovers and ordering one more. Next time you’re ever in Napoli, be sure to make a stop at Michele. Even if it rains.

Da Michele

Via Sersale 13

Tel. +39 081 5539204


Pizza a credito

Sophia Loren is singing. A wry smile on her face as she fries her pizzas on a makeshift steaming pan in the street. Customers stop by for a hot and fragrant pizzella fritta more to peer at her voluptuous cleavage rather than for the leavened dough she is frying. Her chubby husband is fanning the flames under the oil and mouth agape, stares transfixed not at Sophia’s ample décolletage, but her hand. “Where’s the ring?” Sophia’s expression betrays she knows. “It must have slipped in someone’s pizza,” is her prompt reply.

The adventures of retrieving the engagement stone narrated in Vittorio De Sica's masterpiece film "L’Oro di Napoli," in the Pizza a Credito episode starring Loren, narrates the impetuous chase in and around the narrow alleys and homes of Napoli’s Quartiere Sanità, only to end with Sophia’s lover returning the ring she had not mislaid in the pizza dough, but in his bed in the opening sequence.

The title of the episode owes its meaning to the old Napoli tradition of buying street food–and these fried delicacies in particular–on credit. The sign behind the characters says, "Eat today, pay in 8 days."

Another similar Napoli custom is that of the caffè sospeso. When a Napoletano is in the mood, instead of only paying for one espresso at the bar, that person pays for two: their own and one for the next client in need. So later, anyone not able to afford un caffè can simply walk up to the counter and ask the barista "any caffè sospesi?" The fortunate beneficiary of caffè sospeso will never know who to thank. A superb act of faith and compassion. Offering a 'hanging coffee' is like saying "it's on me" to the rest of the humanity. Caffè sospeso is an exclusive Neaplitan custom, and reflects in some ways the city's philosophy of life.

At the end of Part 1 I had promised to share another pizza recipe. Did you think I had forgotten? A promise is a promise. Here it is, your own Sophia-style pizzette!

A little pre-planning is necessary. First of all, prepare your steadfast basic pizza dough. If you double the quantities and freeze part of it you can thaw it later and make homemade pizza with different toppings listed in part 2. (That is of course bearing in mind that in this case, you should own a professional wood-fired brick oven. I know, I tend to repeat myself, but I can never stress the oven thing enough). For pizzelle fritte, fortunately, all you need is a frying pan.

For the sauce 

While you wait for the dough to rise, prepare a basic tomato sauce with:

5-6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
500 g (1.1 lb) tomatoes, peeled, seeded and puréed in a blender; or a 14-oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 spicy peperoncino (optional)
Salt

Again, quantities are abundant, but it's good to have sauce handy for any recipe.

In a saucepan over medium heat, pour the olive oil and add the garlic. Before it begins coloring, add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, until the tomato sauce firms up, stirring frequently.

Leave the pan uncovered to allow the sauce to thicken. To prevent it from spattering, cover the pan with a mesh top or place a wooden spoon across the edge, so that the lid is partially open and the steam can escape.

You will eventually have to heat oil for frying in a large skillet, so take that timing into consideration as well.

When the dough is double its original size, punch it down to eliminate air bubbles.

Divide it into small orbs, each about 5 cm (2”) wide. Flatten each piece to make round disks about 12 cm (4-5”) in diameter.

Bring your oil to frying temperature, and fry your pizzelle 3 or 4 at a time until they are fluffy and light golden. They will balloon irregularly, don't worry, that's what's supposed to happen.

Place them on paper towels on a large plate and let the oil drain briefly. The pizzelle should not be crisp, rather soft and chewy, with a full crumb and large air pockets.

Slather each with an abundant spoonful of tomato sauce, top with a fresh basil leaf and 1 heaped tablespoon of grated Parmigiano. This particular type of pizza must absolutely be eaten piping hot. Tongue-burning hot.

This concludes our journey in the vast world of Pizza as I know and love it.

I hope you took as much pleasure in reading this series as I did in writing it.
Arrivederci from the warm and sunny rolling hills of Italy...


...I'm off to the frozen expanses of northern Sweden* until February on a very cold and interesting assignment.

Farväl!
*latitude 63.1°N longitude 14.3°E

Pizza Part 2

Welcome back to the second installment of La Pizza segment. Last week we investigated the history, appreciation and basic rules of Italian pizza-making.

From the comments on Part 1, I noticed that many of you are regular pizzaioli. Did any of you attempt baking pizza with the easy recipe provided? Was it good? Different? Any questions? Comments? Was it a triumph, or a debacle?

Non-Italians are used to a different kind of pizza than the one we eat here. Different ingredients and thickness, quantity of topping on a single slice and the overall flavor of pizza outside Italian borders varies widely according to place. Just think of pan-baked Greek, or Chicago-style pizza; or the U.S. Pepperoni topping, which in Italy does not exist. In California I loved eating a Hawaiian barbecued chicken and pineapple pizza, but I don't consider that pizza per se.

But let's take a look at other kinds of pizza we enjoy here in the boot-shaped peninsula.

Besides the already examined Napoli-style pizza which once baked in a wood-fired brick oven should be crispy, tender and fragrant, Italy also boasts a street-food, portable version. In Rome as well as in many other parts of Italy, pizza is available in take-away shops which sell pizza rustica or what is more commonly known as pizza al taglio. This pizza is cooked in long, rectangular baking pans and relatively thick (1–2 cm). The crust is often a little charred on the bottom, and this may be because the pizza is often baked in an electric oven. It is available with a myriad of different toppings, portions are cut with scissors and sold by weight. I love eating pizza al taglio as I window shop. Producing long ribbony strands of molten mozzarella and delightfuly dribbling my chin with hot tomato sauce... ah, bliss.

Another interesting kind is Sicilian-style pizza, sfincione (or sfinciuni, in Sicilian dialect), which has its toppings baked directly into the crust. A particular variety that originated in Messina is focaccia alla messinese, typically made with delicious sauteed endive and anchovies.

In Rome, the term pizza bianca refers to a type of flat, pizza-like bread topped with olive oil and coarse salt. It is also a Roman custom to stuff this white pizza with mortadella, or prosciutto and figs, the result being known as pizza prosciutto e fichi. Read more about pizza bianca on this post.

Calzone ripieno is a turnover-style pizza filled with several ingredients, such as ricotta, salami and mozzarella, and folded over to form a crescent before being baked. In Italian, calzone literally means "large sock", while the word ripieno actually means "filling."

Thick vs Thin, the ancestral Napoli vs. Roma thickness discord

In Italy there are two schools of thought. The Neapolitan fluffy thick border around the medium crust pizza and the Roman ultra-thin, crispy recipe. Try feeding a native of Napoli a Roman-style pizza and vice versa, you’ll only see disgust painted on their faces. Some scholars repute Napoli’s pizza (owning the original patent) as the authentic, but in its interesting difference, the Roman lightweight counterpart is no disappointment. I personally love them both, being my Italian roots planted deeply in both cultures, I belong to each in equal measure. And I eat their pizzas with the same nonpartisan satisfaction.

Best-loved pizza recipes

Listing the constantly updated creative commons of pizza would need a separate publication. The popular Italian pizzas listed below are the ones commonly featured on any pizzeria menu.

Pizza bianca/focaccia

Plain dough base with rosemary, salt and olive oil, sometimes served with prosciutto. Usually spontaneously presented as an appetizer by busy restaurateurs before even taking your order.

Pizza marinara

Tomato sauce, oregano and garlic. Steadfast and reliable.

Pizza margherita

Tomato sauce, fresh basil and mozzarella. Named after and dedicated to Queen Margherita di Savoia on her first visit to the bay of Naples and whose colors reflected those of the newly founded Italian flag. Kids love.

Pizza al prosciutto

Tomato, mozzarella and once baked, topped with slices of prosciutto. Sometimes added with fresh arugula.

Pizza Romana/Napoletana* (or Napoli)

Tomato sauce, mozzarella and anchovies. Thirst-inducing and delightful. Endangered species.
* In Rome, when you order a pizza Napoletana you get one topped with tomato, sauce mozzarella and anchovies; in Naples it's the opposite: that same arrangement is called pizza Romana.

Pizza capricciosa ('capricious')

Tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, artichokes, ham, black olives and a soft cooked egg. For the capricious and undecided.

Pizza Quattro Stagioni ('four seasons')

Same ingredients found in the capricciosa, but divided in 4 sections, not mixed. No egg.

Pizza Quattro Formaggi ('four cheeses')

Tomato, mozzarella, stracchino, fontina, gorgonzola. Sometimes ricotta can be swapped for one of the last three.

Pizza ai Funghi e Salsicce (or boscaiola, which means 'lumberjack')

Mozzarella, mushrooms and sausages, can be with or without tomato sauce. A winter classic.

Pizza Mare e Monti ('surf and turf')

Mushrooms and shellfish on a tomato sauce base. A little too nouvelle vague for me.

Calzone fritto

Another famous specialty found primarily in Naples, this particular calzone is a disk of pizza dough filled with prosciutto, mozzarella, ricotta and Parmigiano, folded over into a crescent shape, which is then deep-fried. Whenever I engage in one of those, I then have to then check into hospital for liver cloning procedure.

Pizza alla Nutella

Plain focaccia dough, baked to a crisp and smeared with Nutella with profuse abandon. (For those who are not familiar with Nutella, I suggest you read this post). Whipped cream topping and side order of potent espresso are essential for completing this decadent dessert-pizza experience.

Pizza pairing

Even if beer continues to be the most popular and immediate match for pizza, aromatic and sapid whites like Pinot Grigio, Biancolella, a delicate rosé, or spumante bubbles are a dandy drink pairing to pizza Napoletana. For richer pizzas like Capricciosa or anything with mushrooms, Merlot or Piceno reds do justice.

I hope you enjoyed today's featured pizzas. The great thing about this complete meal is that it's fulfilling but not too filling. Care for more?

Then come back Friday for the final insallment of La Pizza, in which we will be taking one last walk together down the narrow alleyways of Napoli, the cradle of Italian pizza.