If you look around the nations over the world you can say that not many have a national dish that is an international phenomenon. Italy has not one, but two such dishes: pizza and pasta. Both have become famous all over the world, and made the history of Italian cuisine. Tasting a true Italian pizza will make you feel so amazed thanks to its simple and delicious ingredients.
Pizza is a basic form of a seasoned flatbread which has a long history in the Mediterranean region. Several cultures, like Phoenicians and Greeks ate flatbread that was made from water and flour. These early pizzas were eaten from Egypt to Rome and were praised by old ancient historians like Cato the Elder or Herodotus.
The word “pizza” came from the Latin word “pinsa”, that means flatbread, although there is much contradiction about the origins of this word. A legend says that Roman soldiers gained the taste for Jewish Matzoth when they occupied Palestine and developed the similar food when they returned home. A recent archeological discovery has found a preserved pizza in the Veneto region of Italy. By ages, these early pizzas started to take a more complex and modern look and taste.
The people of that time used a few ingredients that they could get with their hands to make a nice pizza dough and they used to top it with olive oil and herbs. The Indian Water Buffalo has the flatbread another view, with the production of the mozzarella cheese. Even today, this cheese cannot be substituted in the Italian pizza, while many other cheeses have made their way in the pizza toppings. No Italian pizzeria is using the dried shredded cheese, like the ones used in so many American pizzas.
The most popular pizza, pizza Margherita, was named after the Queen Margherita. She visited the Pizzeria Brandi in Naples, in 1889. That day, the pizzaiolo created a pizza for the queen that contained the colors of the Italian flag: the red comes from tomatoes, white from mozzarella and green from the fresh green basil. From that day Neapolitan pizza had spread in all Italy regions, and each of them designed their own version based on their specific Italian culinary rules.
Pizza from an Italian Pizzeria is recognized by its round shape, and always cooked in a wood fired oven or fireplace. Besides regional styles there are many pizza varieties that are popular in Italy. Quatro Formaggi uses the four cheese combination of fresh mozzarella and other local cheeses such as ricotta, gorgonzola and Parmigiano-Reggiano, or other specific cheeses like taleggio or fontina, depending on the region.
In this book we are going present you a number of 25 best Italian pizza recipes that you can easily prepare with your friends, girlfriend and family. For getting that specific Italian pizza taste we recommend you to use fresh and original Italian ingredients and don’t overload your dough with too many ingredients, and keep it simple and tasty.