The simple pizza.
Crispy light dough, covered in tomato puree seasoned with basil, topped with a generous amount of melted buttery mozzarella and on top of that your creativity can run wild!
For me simple combos are the way to go for a pizza. As the design mantra goes, "Less is More". - Thank you Mies Van Der Rohe.
I look to ingredients that compliment each other on a pizza for example.
- Pancetta & sweet onions / figs
- Anchovies & capers
- Salami & green peppers
- Lonza &rocket
- Pepperoni & pepperoni & pepperoni
There are a few tricks to when you add your ingredients.
I would say for any thinly sliced meat like lonza, coppa & bresaola. Only add them once the pizza is done crisping up in the oven. The heat from the pizza is enough to melt the fat and send delicious aromas into the kitchen.
The same goes for any fresh rocket, parsley or basil - only add it afterwards. It also helps to layer your greens between the slices of meat to make sure it doesn't end up looking like a plate of salad. No offence to the salad.
For pepperoni and pancetta you can add them right in the beginning and they will crisp up with the pizza.
I always make sure I have a couple extra par-baked pizza bases in the freezer so when its time for a quick lunch I can add my toppings straight onto the frozen base and slam it in the oven on the open grid (no tray, so it cooks the bottom as well) at 250 degrees for a couple minutes till the mozzarella melts and the edge turns golden.
I will be posting a simple pizza base recipe soon along with how I store frozen bases.
Experiment with some of your own combos and we would love to hear what you come up with!
Bon Appetite