#globalpizzatoppings

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Pizza is Always Trendy and Trending

Guest Post by:  Maria Rizzuti

 Pizza is definitely a favourite food among Italians and people of various ethnic backgrounds around the world! 

Being Italian qualified me for once arranging and ordering a pizza lunch for our work group of twenty.  This lunch was in recognition for a great job we were doing. I was to take a poll to see what the most popular toppings were and then order the pizzas accordingly.  Of course, asking twenty different people, you could possibly get twenty different answers!

The most popular request was for the Mediterranean Pizza which consists of black olives, Spanish onions, feta cheese and sun dried tomatoes. We had one definite meat lover, two vegetarian, one wanted the Hawaiian pizza, and one wanted pizza alla bianca meaning no sauce and the others said they would eat anything that was ordered. 

Pizzas and pizza toppings have been adapted over the years to reflect people’s varying tastes.  While the traditional pepperoni and cheese pizza is still popular, non traditional gourmet toppings such as duck, turkey, lamb, caviar, clams, scallops, smoked salmon, and shrimp have become trendy.   

Vegetables toppings now include snow peas, alfalfa sprouts, bamboo shoots, various herbs, roasted garlic, shredded carrots, broccoli, sautéed spinach, grilled eggplant and zucchini.  Not sure if Bugs Bunny would approve of carrots on pizza?  The pizza toppings obviously define what type of pizza it is. 

If you take a global look at pizza toppings, you would find that they would differ greatly; reflecting local tastes, home-grown foods and cultural favourites. Brazilians favour green peas on top of their pizzas. In Russia they dish up their pizzas covered in a combination of sardines, tuna, mackerel, salmon and onions.  Red herring is also a topping of choice. In India, they like pickled ginger, minced mutton and “paneer,” a form of cottage cheese traditionally made with cow’s milk.  Tandoori chicken and chicken “tikka” which are tandoor-grilled pieces of chicken are also popular toppings there.  In Japan “Mayo Jaga” is all the rage which is mayonnaise, potato and bacon. Other favourites include eel and squid. Australians enjoy shrimp and pineapple, as well as barbeque toppings on their pies.  Costa Ricans favour coconut on their pizzas.   

From toppings to what’s trending out in the pizza planetary universe, well have you heard of 24 hour Pizza ATM vending machines!  Yes you heard me correctly, a French company called Paline announced this easy way to get your late night or anytime pizza hankering all satiated in just under 3 minutes!   

Also, trending is the rise and shine pizza! Breakfast pizzas with eggs, bacon, sausages, and cheese. That pizza takes care of breakfast, now onto the dessert pizza! Yes, pizza topped with Nutella, marshmallows and caramel sauce! Or a cinnamon roll pizza, cookies and cream pizza or virtually anything sweet and decadent would certainly solve your sweet tooth craving! 

You might ask, “What do the Calabrese enjoy on their pizza?” Today’s story and recipe hails from me, a Calabrese from Calabria.  My husband Renato and I were both born in Calabria which is in the southern region of Italy.  One of the toppings on my Calabrese Pizza alla Rizzuti is soppressata.  Premium soppressata is based on the southern Italian traditional style, Calabrese.  It is made from choice cuts of pork and premium spices. The salami is dry cured for several months before eating.

I recollect assisting my parents in making many a soppressata in our basement.  The customary time of year was roughly the first week of February.  The temperature outside had to be bitterly cold before my father would purchase the pork shoulders and thigh of the pig from his preferred butcher. He meticulously made sure that he added the right amount of pork fat from the loin as this combination of pork meat is what made the soppressata so flavourful. Like Emeril Lagasse always says “pork fat rules.”

I remember that he did not use a meat grinder to grind the meat. He would only use two sharp knives that he sharpened himself. He would first cut the meat into strips and then cut all of the pieces coarsely by hand.  He cut the meat just the right size every time.  We can’t forget the other important factor, the seasoning of the meat before casing the meat mixture.  The mixture was spiced with lots of salt…I mean loads of salt, hot red pepper chili flakes and ground black pepper.  My mother always commented, “That’s enough salt!” My father being Calabrese, did not listen and continued to add as much salt as he thought the mixture needed. There would never be exact measurements of anything. It was all done “a occhio” or by eye.  

Once the spiced meat mixture was put into the casings, he would carefully and skillfully tie each soppressata with butcher’s twine.  Each one looked like a piece of art by the time he was finished.  They were then hung to dry on a trellis which he constructed himself out of strong wood in our cantina or cold cellar.  They needed to dry slowly so they could cure properly. The temperature had to be very cold at first and as time passed the temperature would fluctuate as the season progressed.  At the end of the drying phase, the soppressata was stored in jars covered in olive oil.  My dad’s judgment was always accurate from start to finish as the overall result of the soppressata was a dynamic red strongly flavoured piece of heaven.  My mouth is salivating just thinking about it!

Remember that the most important workings of a great tasting pizza are: the dough or crust, the sauce and the toppings.  I believe we have all of these components covered.  Here is our Rizzuti family recipe for Calabrese Pizza alla Rizzuti: http://rizzutiandrisotto.com/post/160695380908/calabrese-pizza-alla-rizzuti

Enjoy your pizza!