Keep It Authentic…
Of course, now it’s up to you to decide what type of pizza to make… for me and many others keeping it traditional is the best bet. Authentic Pizza Napoletan with the quality ingredients and techniques: 00 flour, Italian tinned tomatoes (preferably San Marzano), fresh basil and firm fior di latte (mozzarella made from cow’s milk) in the case of a classic margherita. The dough is left to rise slowly, then cooked for 60 to 90 seconds in avery hot oven. The bases should be thin and softer in the middle of the circle, with a puffy cornicione (crust).
Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana produces a mind-bogglingly long and precise booklet about what constitutes an authentic Napoletana pizza, with edicts on acceptable toppings (sorry, no pineapple).
Here are some price points from around the UK (August 2013):
- Franco Manca, London – 12in pizzas from £4.50
- Gusto, Manchester – 12in pizzas from £7.25
- Santa Maria, Ealing – 12in pizza from £5.45
- La Favorita, Edinburgh – 10in pizzas from £8.50
- La Fiamma, Tunbridge Wells – 12in pizzas from £7.50
- Croma, Loughborough – 10in pizzas from £5.25
- Pizza Pilgrims, London – 12in pizzas from £7.00
- Great British Pizza Co, Margate – 12in pizza from £6.00
If it’s good enough for them…
PizzaExpress, one of the UK’s biggest pizza chains, has rolled out an autumn menu with six new main dishes and two new starters, so why not offer the same or similar choices to your customers. The main dishes are:
- Toscana Romana (fennel and chilli sausage, tomato, baby mozzarella, Gran Moravia cheese, basil and extra virgin olive oil)
- Caprina Rossa Romana (beetroot, goat’s cheese, red onion, mozzarella and tomato topped with rocket, pesto and a wedge of lemon)
- Calzone Verdure (goat’s cheese, chargrilled vegetables, sweet baby onions, spicy arrabbiata sauce, baby fresh spinach and pesto)
- Cavatappi Formaggi (Taleggio cheese, mozzarella and cavatappi spirals in a four-cheese sauce, served with dough sticks); Lasagne Verde (chargrilled vegetables, capers, olives, mozzarella, béchamel and passata with spinach pasta and arrabbiata sauce)
- Oven-Baked Taleggio Cheese (chunks of taleggio cheese with rosemary and a four-cheese sauce, served with warm dough sticks).
The new starters are Dough Balls Doppio (a double portion of dough balls to share, served with three dips, pesto, garlic butter and spicy n’duja sausage and olive oil); and Risotto Pollo Funghi (creamy white wine risotto with chicken, pesto, chestnut mushroom, pine kernels, parsley and garlic, finished with rocket – which is also being sold as a main course).
Top Tip – whether you specialise in pizza or offer it as a special or menu selection – offer up a 7″ pizza for “hand-held” eating on busy match days or other events at your pub … this is the size that Domino’s Pizzas offer at the sporting stadia they serve.
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