Thursday, June 5, 2008

Pizza!




Off the bat, I knew I couldn’t achieve the “perfect char” which delineates a great individual thin crust pizza. What I could ensure was that the most basic ingredients and principles of a Margharita Pizza I learned in Italy were brought to succulent fruition. Without a Brick Oven or any of the necessary Pizza accoutrements, I set out to source the best ingredients and make the perfect Margharita pizza (minus the just burnt crispy crust). Beginning with the Mozzarella…




A&S Pork Store (274 5TH Ave) makes the best Cow’s Milk (fiore di latte) Mozzarella in all of NYC. There I said it! Tepid, moist, springy, slightly salty with a hint of tang! I set out to document my boy Sal as he made his first batch of the day.

The ingredients:


Dough, Crushed Whole Peeled Canned Tomatoes (not tomato sauce!), Mozzarella, finely grated Parmesano Reggiano, fresh Basil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I bought the dough from my favorite neighborhood Italiano Americano Pizzeria, Pino’s. Of course I could have made it, but it was a weeknight and I figured if I let it rise an additional 4 hrs it would reach its moment. I did just that...




Roll out your dough. Spread a thin layer of the crushed Tomatoes atop. Next liberally add torn pieces of the Mozzarella, sprinkle Parmesan, rip 2-3 Basil Leaves and lastly drizzle with the Olive Oil. Finnito. Bake on your highest temp until the ingredients have merged and just begin to bubble, assuming you too are without a brick oven ;( My advice, DON’T overcomplicate. Yes, Pizza is a template and anything is possible, but always have one basic, fresh and simple Margherita in your repertoire.



The result took me momentarily back to 6 months obsessing over Pizza in Bella Italia!



PS: The most avid Wine and Booze enthusiasts in Italy scoff at anything but a classic Coka-Cola to accompany their Pizza. I obliged their wishes from afar with these bitsy glass Coke bottle re-issues.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

You lucky dog!! watchin mozzarella in the making - that's a beautiful moment - gotta love that place - I think of their mozzarella often, like every time i have to go ahead and buy mediocre from a store around me...

Anonymous said...

Sal is the best! I've been tempted to take his morning mozzarella class. This blog is dope - I recognize all the places in the 'hood.