Lino and I love to watch The Netflix series ‘Chef’s Table’; one episode in particular sought out the origins of pizza . . . some people profess they come from the good old of US of A, even Dean Martin sings of a “Big Pizza Pie”. . . and that’s amore!!!
According to Italians, pizza originated in Napoli and Calabria, I dare you to argue the toss!
And then there’s the argument of the toppings: what belongs and what doesn’t!
Pepperoni Pizza boasts spicy sausage on it, but pepperoni in this sense is an American spicy sausage. In Italy, pepperoni is a hot chilli pepper . . . there is not a sausage or salami called pepperoni in Italy, only in America.
At Boboli we have a much favoured Pizza, the Testa Rossa, our own version, with Salsiccia Picante, onions and chillies - very hot and spicy!!!
As for Hawaiian pizza, with pineapple and such, we dare not mention this in Lino’s presence, our chefs still share a joke over the time Freddie produced a Hawaiian version for Chef, and he jumped on it!!!! Not his favourite pizza at all!
In our beloved Italy, I was amused to see the wurst sausage making an appearance atop a pizza, along with chips too! Even pasta Carbonara has been known to delicately arrange itself on a bed of dough!
In the end it’s all down to personal interpretations, taste and flights of fancy. Lino endeavours to offer something genuine with the odd twist of fantasy, of course all based on wonderfully fresh ingredients and our own home-made pizza dough made with Sharpham Park spelt flour.