Mo' Pizza

In “Pizza: Sometimes Being Flat is a Good Thing” we saw the origins of pizza come to life, now for a bit of embellishment on the original. A basic pizza is great, but getting a bit creative can make it even better, or a total disaster depending. Use resources such as “The Flavor Bile” to ensure the combination you are contemplating will mesh. I have ignored this advice, generally after one too many beers and have gotten lucky, but the potential for creating toxic waste on a crust is pretty high.

Taste is fairly subjective, for instance my brother swears by BBQ chicken pizza, but the thought of that makes me throw up in my mouth a bit. Crumbled meatloaf and lima beans would be another combo to avoid, but then again I hate meatloaf and lima beans so you might find that topping a real treat. Artichoke hearts, on the other hand, are quite good. I had a Quatra Statione pizza in Italy that oddly enough had a different topping on each quarter of the pizza, one being artichoke hearts. It was delicious, but then I never met an Italian pizza I didn’t like. Diavola was my favorite, topped with very spicy pepperoni. The important factor, beyond the brick wood fired ovens, is the fact the Italians don’t smother the pizza.

Americans have been force fed the idea that more is better and the sausage, pepperoni, and the rest are piled high. Besides clogging major arteries this has a negative effect on the taste. The gimmick pizza regime fostered by the military-industrial pizza complex continues to try to lure customers with cheesy crust, tons of low grade pork by-products, and cheese that has never been anywhere near a cow. You can remedy this.

To be honest, in the past article I used the ubiquitous “cheese in a bag” for convenience sake.  Often times you are better off throwing the cheese out and just tossing the bag on the pizza as they are chemically very similar, but the bag has less fat. So in my next attempt I used grated Parmesan and Romano in the sauce and fresh Mozzarella on the top. The improvement in the taste is incredible.  I also used fresh basil, added after the pizza came out of the oven so it just wilts a bit. Fresh herbs are always preferable, though I did use bottled “Italian Seasoning” in the sauce as well as the dried red pepper flakes.

For the sauce I poured a little olive oil in the bottom of a small sauce pan, maybe around a teaspoon or so. I dropped in one crushed clove of garlic, and chopped onion, added a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper and let it sweat on low heat. When the onion was soft and the aroma of the garlic came wafting up I added one 7oz ounce can of tomato sauce, added the grated cheese, dry Italian herbs and crushed red peppers.  Turned up the heat to medium, brought the concoction to a simmer and let the ingredients socialize for about three minutes.

I used the same crust described in “Pizza: Sometimes Being Flat is a Good Thing.” The crust was rolled out and placed on an oiled flat sheet pan dusted with cornmeal.  The fresh mozzarella comes in a small soft ball, which I sliced up and placed directly on the crust.  The sauce was poured over the cheese and crust, then the pie was decorated with pepperoni, dry salami, mushrooms, sliced tomatoes (seed them first), sliced bell peppers, and finally sprinkled with a little garlic infused olive oil.

The pizza was great, though next time I would be tempted to pre-bake the crust a bit. So there you go. Feel free to wing it when it comes to the pizza - it is easy to make and if you screw it up too badly you can always call out for the pizza with the cheese in the crust.