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{Napoli Nirvana


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Jet set with us to the country with the finest of leather, vino and of course, food. It seems Naples has been the “it” Italian city, in culinary circles at least, for about a decade. And what everyone wants to eat in Naples is pizza.

In his recent article in Saveur, Keith Pandolfi concludes that, “A true Neapolitan pizza is the sum of its simple but sublime parts: dough, tomato sauce, cheese and heat.” Note the operative word, sublime. “In Naples,” he explains, “pizza makers have the best of each element to work with.”

U.S. chefs might not have exactly the elements that comprise a “Verace Pizza Napoletana” or original Neapolitan pizza:

  • Finely milled Caputo flour
  • San Marzano tomatoes
  • Mozzarella di bufala
  • Wood-fired ovens that reach up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit

But that doesn’t stop them from falling under the spell and taking inspiration from the Napoletana way. You’ve got to love the existence of a perfectly simple yet exquisite food that’s been made the same way for at least a century.

Imagine picking up a piece of tradition (with knife and fork, as they do in Naples) like writer, Pandolfi did. He described “its craggy crust a deep golden brown, puffed and charred in places, its tomato sauce bubbling like Vesuvian lava beneath vibrant leaves of basil.” And the bite?

In his interview with Metro.US, Giulio Adriani, a leading Napoletana pizza maker and New York restaurant owner, refers to “the famous characteristic of being fluffy, chewy and soft.” If that’s not heavenly enough, he adds that their wood-fired cooking process “preserves the freshness and original taste of the ingredients.”

As for cheese, pizza makers in Italy and the U.S. appreciate the affordability and easy melting of the cows’ milk varieties. The amount is important too. Pizza chef, Jeff Varasano suggests, “Put only about 8-10 small pieces of cheese on the pie. Better to have a few dollops than an even mix.”

So, what goes into a Neapolitan-style pizza in the U.S.? Vogue writer and author, Jeffrey Steingarten, offers this description in his book, “It Must’ve Been Something I Ate". I

… the perfect Neapolitan-American pizza of today, (which) is 14-18 inches in diameter, rimmed with a wide, puffy, charred circumferential border; heavier, thinner, crisper, and chewier than the Neapolitan original; made with high-protein bread flour; and topped with lavish quantities of cooked tomato sauce, thick slabs of fresh cow's milk mozzarella, olive oil, and most often - 36 per cent of the time – pepperoni.” Check out the author’s Neapolitan-American pizza recipe.

As for how Italian pizzaioli do it? Skillfully, artfully and with amazing precision at distinct kitchen stations. “It takes many years to learn to do this, many pies to perfect it, “ said Roberto Caporuscio, the Naples native and famous Manhattan restaurateur who also serves as president of the Association of Neapolitan Pizzaiuoli.

After a mind excursion to Naples, U.S. chefs are likely to look at more than pizza with a fresh eye – taking away an ingredient, trying a higher quality Mozzarella, putting “what if?” into action and maybe finding a new or old way to make their signature dishes simply sublime.

Make a Neapolitan-style pizza using this recipe. Chef Jeff Varasano offers these tips for keeping cheese from breaking down when cooking pizza at high temperatures:

  • Dry the cheese extremely well by wrapping in a paper towel for 1-3 hours. You'd think the wetter it is the better it would hold up to the heat, but it’s not so. The water inside boils and degrades the cheese. Sometimes the cheese is so wet I have to change the wrapping several times. This might be avoided by simply draining for a long, long time.
  • Put the cheese on in cubes rather than slices
  • Start with cold cheese
  • Put a tiny drop of sauce on them, which has to boil off first, thus keeping the cheese insulated for a bit

“Doing all of these may be overkill,” he admits. “You have to experiment with your cheese.”