L’Incredibile varietà di pizze nel Sud d’Italia
When do dough, tomato sauce,
and mozzarella stop being mere ingredients and become pizza?
It’s a philosophical question that
has divided chefs and diners for decades. For some, only pies in the Neapolitan
and Roman styles are acceptable—Sicilian, at a stretch. Others extend the goal
posts as far as Chicago deep dish.
But pizzas have been eaten in
southern Italy for hundreds of years, and the rainbow of variations that can be
found there—if you know where to look—rivals the rest of the world’s best
efforts. Its proximity to North Africa means that flatbreads have been popular
for centuries. Forget calzones—I’m talking about pizzas and pittas created
specifically for breakfast, or marvels the size of entire tables, or baked
spirals of crust begging to be torn into satisfying, savory chunks.
Calabria
Mpigliati con le sarde
An mpigliati con le sarde pie at the
Petite Etoile hotel consists of dough coated with a mash of sardella, a rich
fish sauce with red peppers, and tiny fish cured with salt and paprika.
A salty, beautiful pie that looks
like a bundle of bread roses. It consists of strips of dough coated with a mash
of sardella, a rich fish sauce with red peppers, and pilchards (small,
herring-like fish) cured with salt and paprika. The strips are rolled and stuck
together before baking; to eat, you just tear off one of the rolls, which are
great with an aperitivo. This pizza is a good example of the cucina
povera of southern Italy, where humble local ingredients are used to create
deeply flavored dishes.
Cullura
Cullura uses dough made with pig
fat, layered with cime di rapa (broccoli raab), rolled a bit like a
strudel, and then formed into a circle. Cullura is generally consumed cold and
works as an everyday snack for farmers to take up into the mountains.
Pitta
Pitta is a Calabrian flatbread
that’s crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside; it includes toppings such
as tomato, peppers, and herbs.
Falagone
This half-moon-shaped treat, like a
small calzone, is usually eaten cold.
Pitta rustica
A pitta rustica with prosciutto, caciocavallo cheese, and salumi between
pitta-style bread.
Pasta da forno
Pasta da forno, a popular breakfast
food. Forget the “pasta” name; this is a pizza, and it’s popular for breakfast.
There’s no tomato sauce atop the dough, no mozzarella, no onion. It’s just
crushed tomato with salt, oregano, and olive oil. Traditionally, pasta da forno
comes in a round, black tray and is served cold. The absence of sauce helps
keep the base crispy, making this a perfect snack to carry to school or to
work.
Puglia
Focaccia altamurana
The thick focaccia altamurana is
studded with tomato and green olives.
This pizza’s dough, made only with
semolina, is thick, like a deep-dish pie, with tomato, green olives, and extra
virgin olive oil.
Basilicata
Panzerotto di
carne and panzerotto fritto
These two pie pockets look like
calzones but smaller. The first is filled with minced pork and spices,
then baked and seasoned with thyme, rosemary, and oregano while the melted fat
is still hot. It’s popular as a street food and also comes in a fried version,
panzerotto fritto. The other contains rich strands of mozzarella, sweet tomato,
and basil.
Strazzata
Strazzata, a fresh summer-style
pizza with peppers, tomato, and extra virgin olive oil.
Adapted from an article by
Richard Vines
Bloomberg Businessweek
Photographer: Carol Sachs for
Bloomberg Businessweek
