Not many Italians would go to the trouble of making pizza at home. The really spoilt ones, of course, may be tempted on occasion to fire up the outdoor, purpose built, wood burning oven at their country house for a summer evening with friends and family, or a lunch for the workers during the olive or grape harvest. The rest of them belie any fantasies we may harbour about three generations of women working harmoniously in the kitchen all morning, arduously fixing tempting delights for their hardworking husbands, brothers and sons.

My observations of modern Italy are that many households are simply more cramped versions of our own city dwellings, inhabited by working parents and their children — despite popular belief, grandparents and spinster aunts are rarely part of this domestic enclave; Commonly there are limited cooking and dining facilities or culinary skills of any significance to speak. The cooking skills of these households are in fact generally are as challenged as our own. The culinary arrangements in city apartments may consist of a simple two burner cooktop, an electric oven the size of a large Australian family toaster, a fridge no bigger than what we refer to as a bar fridge, a sink with a removable lid — essentially the bench space and the best design feature of all — a wall mounted dish rack that houses a full complement of cups, plates and cutlery. The tiny cupboard below accommodates a pot or two for cooking pasta, perhaps a frypan and certainly a coffee pot.

Try renting an apartment in Rome and you will experience this yourself. You will probably suspect these are only holiday arrangements for holiday apartment living — not at all; they are a daily reality for many city dwelling Italians. Generally, these inadequate ‘kitchenettes’ were never designed to manufacture a meal more elaborate than a bowl of pasta. This is partly why I assume that restaurant culture is so alive and well in Italy. Italians entertain friends and families far more often in a restaurant environment than in the family home.

While the grand city Ristorantes are always a treat, funded by robust business expense accounts and special celebrations, most families assemble to dine at a local Trattorria, Osteria or Pizzeria for the ‘home cooking’ we like to think they conjure up so aptly for themselves. Pizza is something you would eat out and never make at home. It’s simultaneously a snack on the run as well as the cheap and cheerful family meal that most families can afford and everyone adores.

Pizza was born in Naples and Neapolitan style pizza remains the best of all, a thin and crisp crust with a light topping — moderation is everything. A visit to one of those hole-in-the-wall pizzerias in Naples is a must do culinary adventure for every visitor to Italy. Many of them close from mid-July to mid-August for the summer break, so try to time your visits accordingly.

The reasons I offer a recipe for pizza here in a food column still may appear a little curious. After all, who wants to cook what you can buy ‘take-away’? While we may have fabulously superior kitchens to most Italians, I would suggest that we do not have vastly superior local Pizzerias that serve the real deal pizza that someone like me hopes that everyone should know and love. There is a spattering of true Neapolitan Pizzerias across the larger Australian metropolises but, like most Italian food — adapted to the preferences of New World sentiment — pizza joints in Australia proffer goods which barely resemble the native idea. The friends of our children hint shamelessly for an invitation to sit in our kitchen and eat Neapolitan style pizza fresh from the oven. In Australia, we are more likely to construct the real deal at home from a hot oven using a traditional recipe than most of the establishments that trot out unrecognizable, confused, doughy concoctions that no Neapolitan would ever recognize as Pizza.

Karen Martini generously shares her recipe for basic pizza dough in her book ‘Where the Heart is’. Described as ‘never fail’, it is her home version of the dough they make at ‘Mr Wolf’ in St Kilda. For those of you who can’t make your own dough or do not wish to do so — you may find a local pizzeria prepared to sell you some fresh raw dough very inexpensively — just be sure to roll it out as thin as you can. I have adapted the Karen Martini recipe slightly and only use Italian 00 Flour such as the Molini brand. This is available from ‘Leaf’ in Elwood and other reputable suppliers of continental goods. While a homemade pizza cannot compete with one cooked in a wood fired baker’s oven, a really hot domestic oven does render something entirely acceptable.

Basic Pizza Dough

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

• 400g 00 Flour
• 100g fine grain semolina
• 2 teaspoons table salt
• 375ml tepid water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 7g (2 teaspoons) dried yeast

Method

• Combine the flour, semolina and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer, with a dough hook attached.*
• Mix oil, water and yeast in a small bowl and stir well. Allow to stand for 10 minutes so the yeast can set to work.
• Pour the yeast mixture into the flour, mix at low speed to combine
• Mix at high speed for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and sticky. Be sure to hold the machine as it will probably jump around on the bench top.
• Place the dough in a well oiled bowl, rolling it in the oil to coat it. Cover with plastic film and leave to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes to an hour or until the dough doubles in size.
• Preheat the oven up to 275C – at least 220C
• Punch the dough in the bowl
• Divide into 4 – 6 portions.
• Roll one piece into a ball, stretch it and smooth it out or roll it on a floured surface into a thin sheet or round.
• Place on baking paper on round pizza trays or rectangle baking sheets — this makes it easy to slip the cooked pizza off the tray onto a plate or board.
• If you don’t have a dough hook — combine the ingredients by hand. Pile the flour, semolina and salt on a clean work surface, create a well in the middle and slowly pour the yeast liquid into the well. Work the ingredients to make a ball and then knead the dough for about 15 minutes on a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth, elastic and sticky. Proceed to Step 5.

Pizza Margherita

Ridiculously simple I know but there is nothing more delicious than freshly picked cherry tomatoes and home grown basil to top a pizza base with, at the height of summer.

Ingredients

• 1 kg cherry tomatoes cut in half or 750g chunky tomato passata and some cherry tomatoes
• 750g sliced mozzarella or diced buffalo mozzarella or fior di latte**
• Olive oil for drizzling
• Basil for garnish
• Salt and Pepper to season

Method

• Divide the tomatoes and cheese between the bases (reserving some of the fresh tomatoes)
• Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
• Bake for 8 – 10 minutes in a hot oven until the base is crisp and the topping is golden and bubbling.
• Sprinkle with the basil leaves, garnish with a few fresh, halved or quartered cherry tomatoes and drizzle with a little more olive oil.
• Be Neapolitan and eat with your hands
• This is a rustic meal — enjoy it with a rustic red wine

** Available from continental delicatessens or specialty cheese shops

—

Elizabeth Peddey (aka Sunday Relish) has been the Tribune’s food expert since 2009. She also consults in Meal and Pantry Planning, Food Shopping and Entertaining and offers Cooking Classes. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Ph: 0419 505 438

+ 0

+ 0