Pippa Cuthbert - Pizza: Over 100 Innovative Recipes for Crusts, Sauces, and Toppings for Every Pizza Lover

OVER 100 INNOVATIVE RECIPES FOR CRUSTS, SAUCES, AND TOPPINGS FOR EVERY PIZZA LOVER

Pippa Cuthbert and
Lindsay Cameron Wilson

Pizza

CompanionHouse Books is an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishers International Ltd.

Project Team

Vice PresidentContent: Christopher Reggio

Editor: Colleen Dorsey

Copy Editor: Laura Taylor

Design: Wendy Reynolds

Index: Jay Kreider

Recipe Photography: Stuart West

Copyright 2019 by Pippa Cuthbert, Lindsay Cameron Wilson, and IMM Lifestyle Books

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Fox Chapel Publishers, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

ISBN 978-1-62008-374-1

Library of Congress Control Number:2019945989

This book has been published with the intent to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter within. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the author and publisher expressly disclaim any responsibility for any errors, omissions, or adverse effects arising from the use or application of the information contained herein.

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Printed and bound in China

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To our sisters: Anna, Sally, Lee, and Jessie.

Many thanks to Stuart West for his beautiful recipe photographs and to all our friends and family who contributed in countless ways to this book. And of course to Books for Cooks, where all of this began.

The following images are credited to Shutterstock.com and their respective creators:

Front cover: Prostock-studio; : Africa Studio

Pizza is many things to many people. To the people of Naples, pizza is a way of life. There are more than 500 pizzerias amid the citys dusty churches and cramped dwellings. Within each pizzeria are veteran bakers standing before large, beehive-shaped wood-fired ovens. From these ovens come the traditional thin, puffy, charred crusts topped lightly with ingredients, such as the simple pizza Margherita, which is covered with tomatoes, olive oil, mozzarella, and basil. Legend has it that a chef in Naples created this colorfully patriotic pizza in 1889 when the Queen of Italy came to visit. Contrary to popular lore, however, pizza isnt an original Neapolitan idea; its simply their interpretation of what the Greeks, the Romans, and undoubtedly the Arabs had been doing for centuries. Nevertheless, it is an interpretation that has clearly been successful.

To many Americans, pizza is something quite different. Italian immigrants brought Naples-style pizzas to America just before the turn of the twentieth century, but its popularity there didnt fully take off until the end of the Second World War, when US troops came home looking for the cheap, flavorful pizza they had tasted for the first time in Naples. According to Jeffrey Steingarten, the renowned American food writer and Neapolitan-American pizza aficionado, there are 61,269 pizzerias in America. Not all of these, however, uphold the traditions of Naples. Welcome the thick, deep-pan pizzas of Chicago. The garden-fresh, seasonal pizzas of California. The smoky, spicy pizzas of the Southwest. The thick and thin New York-style pizzas favored on the East Coast. There are even pizza fans who sincerely prefer the mass-produced, plastic-cheese-topped, pepperoni-studded, greasy creations from their local pizza chain. Yes, pizza has morphed in countless directions in America. Its fast food. Its street food. Its frozen. Its fresh. Some take pizzas seriously. Others down a slice while watching football.

But Im not American. Nor is Pippa. America is just the perfect example of how a country can embrace a dish and shape it over time. Every country has its own variations, permutations, and interpretations of pizza. Some are good, others are shameful. The latter graced the dining room table of every primary school birthday party I ever attended. No, middle Americans are not alone. You know the kind of pizza Im talking aboutbland white crust, tasteless tomato sauce, and salty discs of pepperoni covered in a mound of double cheesethe rubbery stuff someone dared to call mozzarella. A little dough ball sat in the middle of these gargantuan pizzas. It kept the cardboard box from adhering to the sticky pizza during delivery.

As some say, you have to hit rock bottom before you can climb back up again. Thats what we, two humble pizza lovers from separate ends of the globe, are here to doto move pizza onwards and upwards, yet all the while keeping an eye on the past.

To us, pizza means Friday night. That was when imaginations ran wild and creative combinations began. It means trips to Italy. Memories of pizza marinara emerging from wood-fired ovens. Folding it over and devouring it as fast as it was cooked. It means university. Cheap meals, quick nourishment, happy gatherings. It means barbecues, eating al fresco under the stars. Most of all, pizza means being given the opportunity to corral these memories into one collective book. Here you will find our favorite, eclectic, creative, and classic recipes from our repertoire. Some purists, like the members of the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, who set out to defend the original Neapolitan pizza from imitations, wouldnt wholly approve. Our second chapter, aptly called Classics (see boiled the tropical fish for a variety of unusual pizza and pasta dishes. Neapolitans give this resourcefulness a namelarte di arrangiarsi, the art of getting by.

We arent starving, nor are we living in wartime. But we are blessed with larte di arrangiarsi. We love to experiment, to pair unexpected ingredients together, to fuse flavors. But you cant look forward without remembering the past. All of our recipes are based on the traditional pizza-making methods. Proper techniques are established. Flavor combinations are unique, but ingredients are pure. A wood-fired oven is encouraged. Of course we dont have one ourselves, but wed really love it if we did. Dreaming aside, for the bulk of the home cooks out there, weve provided plenty of scope for experimentation. There are many sauces and pizza bases to choose from, depending on taste and time. The foundations are here, but as always, there is room to maneuver. Where some Neapolitans might scoff, the esteemed late English cookery writer Elizabeth David would hopefully approve. In 1954