How do you cook the perfect pizza? The answer lies somewhere in Italy’s south, where the first pizza was invented by Raffaele Esposito back in 1889. When walking in Italy you’ll see how the simple ways of the South inspired this classic dish, which should ideally be made with only the most basic of ingredients.
Pizza making in Italy certainly isn’t a slap dash affair and, it’s only right that, a nation that loves its food so much, may lay down a few rules in order to prevent just anyone claiming to produce an authentic pizza. In fact, for a pizza to be classed as an authentic Neapolitan it must abide by rules proposed by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. There are three different types of Neapolitan pizza; the Marinara made with tomato, garlic, oregano, basil and olive oil; the Margarita with tomato, mozzarella, basil and extra virgin olive oil; and Margarita Extra where the mozzarella is served in fillets from the Campania region. A Neapolitan pizza,that abides by these rules is classed as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed product, under an EU regulation that protects food from a certain region. In fact, all the ingredients for an authentic Neapolitan pizza can be found locally, and walking in Italy’s Campania region should allow you to pick up everything you need to make Italy’s most famous pizza.
San Marzano Tomatoes
Walking in Italy’s south instantly conjures up images of a few places that you simply can’t afford to miss. One of these is Mount Vesuvius, a dormant volcano that occasionally emits a few streams of lava. From the top of this breathtaking mountain you can see images out over the Bay of Naples, Capri, Ischia and the Almafi Coast. However, walking in Italy’s most active volcanic region certainly isn’t an easy affair and walkers should be warned that the hike is quite strenuous. There is, however, another reason that you may be tempted to visit the fertile soils of Mount Vesuvius and that is to collect the first of your ingredients, juicy San Marzano tomatoes which grow on the fertile soils to the south of the volcano.
Buffalo Mozzarella
Another scenic walk around the Campania region is in the rustic area of Lazio. In this area, verdant hills give way to sprawling rustic towns, and the region is one of the most attractive and traditional in the whole country. Lazio is home to the Abruzzo National Park and, in the town of Opi, mountain life is still very prevalent. Whilst walking in Italy you’ll be able to watch the locals hand make pecorino cheese and ricotta, but the cheese that you’re here to collect is buffalo mozzarella; made from the milk of the water buffalo that roam in a semi wild state in this area.
Cooking Your Pizza
Now that you’ve collected these two ingredients, you’re well on your way to making an authentic Neapolitan pizza. The first part of your lesson involves making the dough or the base of your pizza. You’ll be shown the traditional way to work the dough in an Italian cookery class. The dough needs to be both formed and kneaded by hand and should be no more than 3mm thick. You can then choose your Neapolitan topping to place on the dough, before baking it in a traditional stone oven for no more than 90 seconds. However, if you’re not yet convinced by your own culinary genius, you may want to eat out at one of any number of Naples’ famous pizzerias. The Antica Pizzeria Brandi, which still stands in town, is the pizzeria where pizza was first invented and once you’ve tried your hand at creating your own authentic Neapolitan pizza it’s worth going back and seeing how it compares to the original.
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