Italian Pizza Toppings & More

Once you have your dough, what to do with it? The standard topping combinations one
encounters in Italy differ somewhat from those I have encountered elsewhere. The quantities
given below will be sufficient for one pizza each.
Pizza:
Pizza Margherita: to honor the Queen
You will want !" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes, about a quarter
pound of shredded mozzarella, and #$% fresh basil leaves. &pread the tomato sauce on
the dough, sprin'le with the mozzarella, drizzle with a few drops olive oil, add the basil
and ba'e.
Pizza Marinara: the garlic-lover's delight
You will want two cloves (or more or less to taste) finely sliced garlic, and !" cup
tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes. &pread the sauce over the pizza, sprin'le
the garlic, drizzle with a few drops olive oil and ba'e.
Pizza al Prosciutto: a standby
You will want "$# ounces finely sliced coo'ed ham, shredded, !" cup tomato sauce or
chopped canned tomatoes, and !% pound shredded mozzarella. &pread the tomato
sauce, sprin'le the with the mozzarella and ham, drizzle with a few drops olive oil and
ba'e.
Pizza Prosciutto e Funghi: another standby
You will want about a cup finely sliced *hampignon mushrooms, !" cup tomato sauce
or chopped canned tomatoes, "$# ounces finely sliced ham, and !% pound shredded
mozzarella. &pread the tomato sauce, sprin'le the other toppings over it, drizzle with
a few drops olive oil and ba'e.
La apoletana: yet another standby
!" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes, !% pound shredded mozzarella,
#$% anchovy filets or more to taste, tablespoon or so rinsed salted or pic'led capers,
a dusting of oregano. &pread the tomato sauce over the pizza, dot it with the
remaining ingredients, drizzle with a few drops olive oil and ba'e.
L'!to"ica: ! #iery $onder
Though the one constant is a healthy +olt of crumbled red pepper, the other
ingredients vary considerably from pizzaiolo to pizzaiolo.
,ariation - !" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes, a tablespoon or to
taste salted or pic'led capers (rinsed), #$% anchovy fillets, boned, a dusting of
oregano, and crumbled red pepper, to taste. !% pound shredded mozzarella is
optional. .ssemble the pizza, drizzle with a few drops olive oil and ba'e.
,ariation "- !" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes, #!% cup finely sliced
mushrooms, a dusting of oregano, crumbled red pepper to taste, and !% pound
shredded mozzarella (optional). .ssemble the pizza, drizzle with a few drops olive oil
and ba'e.
Pizza Quattro %tagioni: The
#our seasons
!" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes, #$% canned articho'e hearts,
quartered, /$0 blac' olives pac'ed in brine (you1ll want the sweet variety), !" cup
finely sliced mushrooms, " ounces finely sliced ham, shredded, and !% pound
shredded mozzarella. &pread the tomato and the mozzarella, arrange the other four
toppings each in its quarter of the pizza2 drizzle with a few drops olive oil and ba'e.
Pizza &apricciosa:
'verything in the
house
3ot really, but it seems li'e that. It1s usually the richest pizza offered, and every
pizzaiolo ma'es it differently. This is based on the 4izzaria 5iancarlo, outside
6lorence1s 4orta &an 6rediano. !" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes,
!% pound shredded mozzarella, finely sliced hot dog, lin' sweet Italian sausage
(about " inches long), s'inned and shredded, 7 thin slices salamino piccante
(pepperoni in the anglo$sa8on world) " ounces thinly sliced ham, shredded, " canned
articho'e hearts, quartered. &pread the tomato sauce over the pizza, sprin'le the
remaining ingredients over the sauce, drizzle with a few drops olive oil and ba'e.
Pizza ai
Quattro
For"aggi:
&heese
(alore)
!" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes, !% pound shredded mozzarella,
!# cup (each) shredded pecorino, gorgonzola, groviera (&wiss *heese), and fontina
or asiago, one blac' olive. &pread the tomato, and sprin'le it with the cheeses2 the
pizza will loo' almost white. 9ot it with the olive and ba'e.
La
Maialo
na:
The
hogger
*sorry+
but
that's
$hat it
transla
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!" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes, !% pound shredded mozzarella,
"$# ounces thinly sliced ham, shredded, hot dog, finely sliced, sweet Italian lin'
sausage (" inches long) s'inned and shredded. &pread the tomato sauce, sprin'le the
remaining ingredients over it, and ba'e.
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!" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes, !% pound mozzarella, shredded,
a small onion, finely sliced and the rings separated, sweet Italian sausage ("
inches), s'inned and crumbled. &pread the tomato sauce over the pizza, sprin'le the
remaining ingredients over the sauce, drizzle with a few drops olive oil and ba'e.
Pizza
alla
-is"ar
.:
/hat's
that
egg
doing
here0
6or reasons un'nown to me a pizza with an egg crac'ed over it so it emerges from the
oven sunny$side$up is called a :ismar'. ;8cactly what else goes onto the pizza is up to
the pizzaiolo, but ham goes quite well. &o- !" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned
tomatoes, "$# ounces thinly sliced ham, shredded, and an egg. &pread the tomato
sauce over the pizza, sprin'le the remaining ingredients over the sauce, crac' the egg
over the middle of the pizza, drizzle with a few drops olive oil and ba'e.
Pizza
1egetariana:
-etty's
#avorite
.gain lots of variability, though the vegetables used are almost always coo'ed- stewed
peppers, stewed eggplant, articho'e hearts, spinach, and what have you :egin with
the standard !" cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes and !% pound
shredded mozzarella, and go from there, adding the coo'ed vegetables you prefer.
9rizzle with a few drops olive oil and ba'e.
&alzoni & Focacce:
! Focaccia is a dis' of dough ba'ed in the oven, and topped (if it is) when it emerges.
Toppings are generally quite simple. 4erhaps the most common one is sliced fresh tomatoes,
thinly sliced prosciutto (the raw variety, not coo'ed ham), and shredded arugola (rucola in
Tuscany). The color combination is quite pretty, and the flavors meld very well. Other common
toppings include straight prosciutto (not ham), +ust tomatoes, or tomatoes and thinly sliced
mozzarella. Olive oil is served at the table so the diner can drizzle some to taste.
There<s a more variety to calzone fillings.
-asic &alzone:
"$# ounces finely sliced coo'ed ham, shredded, !% pound shredded mozzarella, and
!% cup tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes. &prin'le the shredded ham and
cheese over half the dis', fold it over to cover the topping, and crimp the edges.
&pread the tomato sauce on top of it, and ba'e.
.s a variation, you can add !" cup thinly sliced mushrooms. Or, you can ma'e a
calzone :ismarc' by crac'ing an egg into the calzone before you fold over the crust.
&alzone Farcito: 'verything in the house2
Farcito means stuffed, which this calzone certainly is. It<s the equivalent of the 4izza
*apricciosa, and every pizzaiolo has his version. This is based on the 4izzaria
5iancarlo, outside 6lorence1s 4orta &an 6rediano. !% pound shredded mozzarella,
finely sliced hot dog, lin' sweet Italian sausage (about " inches long), s'inned and
shredded, 7 thin slices salamino piccante (pepperoni in the anglo$sa8on world) "
ounces thinly sliced ham, shredded, " canned articho'e hearts, quartered, !% cup
tomato sauce or chopped canned tomatoes. &prin'le the ingredients e8cept the
tomato sauce over half the dis', fold it over to cover the topping, and crimp the
edges. &pread the tomato sauce on top of it, and ba'e.
&alzone ai Quattro For"aggi: ! &heesy /onder)
!% pound shredded mozzarella, !# cup (each) shredded pecorino, gorgonzola,
groviera (&wiss *heese), and fontina or asiago, one blac' olive, !% cup tomato sauce
or chopped canned tomatoes. &prin'le the ingredients e8cept the tomato sauce over
half the dis', fold it over to cover the topping, and crimp the edges. &pread the
tomato sauce on top of it, and ba'e.
.s is the case with pizza toppings, the s'y is the limit when it comes to fillings. 6eel free to
e8periment (for e8ample, a few salted capers, rinsed, tossed into the basic calzone), though
you should 'eep in mind that too many ingredients can interfere with each other.
=inding down, a variation on the theme that1s popular in the &abina area during *arnival,
4izza &fogliata con &alsiccia e 4ancetta- . sheet of dough, covered with sausage and pancetta,
rolled up, coiled, and ba'ed- =ho could as' for more?
>ow to use a wood$fired pizza oven.
To drin'? . light zesty red wine, for e8ample a *hianti d1annata, or a ,alpolicella *lassico, or
something even zestier, for e8ample ?ambrusco (I especially li'e these), or beer.
.fterwords? Tiramisu.
If you plan to eat pizza in Italy, here is some advice on selecring your pizzeria.
5ood 6ood @ 9rin',
Ayle 4hillips