L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 8 FRANCESCA BEZZONE P izza is the ultimate comfort food: it's fill- ing, it's versatile, it's perfect for sharing but also great to have on your own. A night on front of the tv screen is not the same without pizza and every typical Italian night out starts with a trip dow n a local pizzeria for a "pizza e una birretta." Rich in flavor and comforting, it's easy to forget that pizza, in its essence, is pretty nutritious stuff and not that bad for you, either. When made with fresh ingre- dients and from scratch, pizza can be a very healthy dis h indeed: packed with good carbs, vitamins, fibers and proteins, it's eas y to diges t and can be enjoyed even when on a diet. F orget about pepperoni and sausage, of course, but who says a lighter slice cannot be just as tasty? In Italy, pizza Margherita remains a staple of healthy eat- ing: fresh tomato and mozzarel- la, hand kneaded dough, a dash of extra virgin olive oil and basil are the only ingredients needed to prepare this light, nutritious, yet highly satisfying delicacy. In case you fancy something more adventurous than this century old classic without missing out on its health benefits, fear not: most modern pizzerias offer wholewheat pies, topped with fresh, organic vegetables and proteins. In N aples , th e Is tituto N azionale dei Tumori F on- dazione Pascale has recently gone a step further and created Pascalina, a pizza born to fight cancer. Its story is fascinating and ties into the personal experi- ence of Gianluca Passeggio and Mara Mincione, owners of the Don Beppe pizzerias in Naples: when a loved one was diagnosed with cancer, Gianluca and Mara got acquainted with the oncolo- gy ward of the Istituto Pascale and its amazing staff. Struck by the professionalism, humanity and hard work of the team, the restaurateurs decided to intro- duce a special pizza on their menu, and to devolve part of the profits from its sales to the Pas- cale Institute. Chuffed by the project, the people at the Institute took it even further, using state of the art research on nutrition and cancer prevention to develop a special pizza: an anti-cancer pizza. And thus, Pascalina was born. Behind its "traditionally innovative" recipe are the minds of Attilio Bianchi, general direc- tor of the Fondazione Pascale, Maurizio Montella, director of the Institute's epidemiology unit, Paolo Delrio, director of the colon-rectal surgery unit and nutritionist Livia Augustin. For each Pascalina sold, 1 euro goes in support of research to fight cancer. Launched at the Napoli Pizza Village last month, pizza Pas- calina has been created follow- ing the principles of the Mediter- ranean diet and paying attention to the World Cancer Research Fund's guidelines on healthy eating; good and nutritious, it can be consumed twice a week as part of a well balanced diet and it is considered a valid sup- port to the prevention of many forms of cancer. So, what's its secret? Well, it's all in the ingre- dients: type 1 flour (a bit coarser than your average pizza flour), friarielli or cime di rapa (turnip greens), San Marzano or Corbara tomatoes, Caiazzo olives, wal- nuts, Cilento's extra virgin olive oil, garlic and chillies. Each of them, epidemiological studies shows, have proven to be benefi- cial for the prevention of various types of cancers: tomatoes can reduce the risk of colon, stom- ach and prostate cancer (20%, 5 7 % a n d 1 6 % ) ; c r u c i f e r o u s greens, such as broccoli, friariel- li and turnip greens, also reduce the risks of colon cancer and can protect from breast cancer. The same can be said of olive oil, w h i c h a l s o p r o t e c t s a g a i n s t stomach, colon and pancreas malignant tumors. Pizza Pascalina contains a full portion of vegetables, 15 grams of fiber and it's rich in mono- and poli- unsaturated fats, all factors making it a staple of the Piramide Alimentare Pas- c a l i a n a , a n u t r i t i o n p y r a m i d ideated by the Istituto Pascale following the basic principles of Italy's own Mediterranean diet, as well as the already mentioned guidelines of the World Cancer Research Fund. Much like your a v e r a g e f o o d p y r a m i d , t h e Piramide Alimentare Pascaliana shows all foods we should eat to maintain our organism healthy and to protect it from cancer: at the bottom those to consume on a daily basis, at the top those to avoid or consume sparingly. Our pizza Pascalina has become part of the Piramide and can be con- sumed once or twice a week, just like lean fish, legumes and soy products. Pizza Pascalina, as you may have noticed, is also 100% vegan, which will certainly make plenty of animal lovers happy. The first thing that strikes about pizza Pascalina is its sim- plicity: a wholewheat base made following traditional methods and using either natural yeast or sourdough, topped with fresh, uncooked greens and tomatoes, their fresh flavor enhanced by the addition of extra virgin olive oil, olives, nuts and a hint of gar- lic and chillies. So simple you could really make it at home, if you fancied, with 160 grams of type 1 flour, yeast, 120 grams of friarielli or broccolis, 120 grams o f S a n M a r z a n o o r C o r b a r a tomatoes, 30 grams of extra vir- gin olive oil, 30 grams of olives, 2 0 g r a m s o f w a l n u t s a n d a s much - or as little - garlic and chillies as you wish. Off it goes into the oven at 450 C for 60 seconds and voilà! La Pascalina is ready. Of course, those tem- peratures can be reached only in a wood oven, so baking times should be adapted to your own oven. And if you're not into cook- ing, but still like the idea of try- ing Pascalina and see what it's all about, head for New York, where you can try it at Keste Wall Street, on Fulton St. Thanks to its healthy, wholesome ingredients, pizza Pascalina can be enjoyed also when on an ipocaloric diet. Photo courtesy of Scatti di Gusto Fresh, healthy, colorful, just like the Mediterranean diet it symbolizes. Photo courtesy of Scatti di Gusto Pizza Pascalina, a slice of health LIFESTYLE FASHION FOOD ARTS DESIGN

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