L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano N apoletana, Ro m a n a a n d a l taglio. Margh erita, capric- ciosa and quat tro stagioni: of course, we are talking about pizza. But w h i l e t h e s e v a r i e t i e s a r e known across the globe, they are far from being the only o n e s , a n d I a m n o t o n l y speaking about toppings. If it's true that pizza is a quin- tessentially Neapolitan dish – so much so that Neapoli- tan pizza-making received UNESCO recognition – we shouldn't discount its many declensions and forms, in every region of Italy. N o w , w e a l l k n o w t h e basics, right? Pizza "Napole- tana" has a fluffier crust, w i t h n i c e , r a i s e d e d g e s , w h i c h s o m e t i m e s y o u g e t f i l l e d w i t h c h e e s e . P i z z a " R o m a n a " h a s a t h i n n e r , crunchier crust, and it's usu- ally more commonly found i n p i z z e r i a s a c r o s s t h e Northern regions – or so my experience taught me! But Sicily, Sardinia, and Liguria have something to say about pizza, too, even though not many outside of these regions may be aware o f i t . L e t ' s s t a r t f r o m t h e N o r t h e r n m o s t o f t h e m , sunny and fragrant Liguria, the land of pesto and focac- cia, of trenette, lemons and … sardenaira. This thick, served-by-the-slice delicacy originates from the town of Sanremo, on the Riviera dei Fiori, but it has become pop- ular across the region and you can even find it in many b a k e r i e s o f n e i g h b o r i n g Piedmont. Some consider it more of a loaded focaccia rather than a pizza, but the deliciousness remains the same. The first sardenaira was baked sometimes in the early 1500s, after Colombo brought tomatoes back from America and was, apparent- ly, called pizza d'Andrea (or "pissandrea"), apparently in h o n o r o f A d m i r a l A n d r e a Doria who, in those times, was a big name in the poli- t i c s o f t h e R e p u b l i c o f Genoa. Sardenaira's crust is thick and fluffy like that of focaccia, and it's topped with a f l a v o r f u l t o m a t o s a u c e e n r i c h e d w i t h s a l t e d anchovies, Taggiasca olives, c a p e r s , s h a l l o t s a n d , o f course, olive oil. The name "sardenaira" comes from the fact that, in Sanremo, bak- ers used to make it with sar- dines rather than anchovies. I n S a r d i n i a , w e f i n d a n o t h e r f o c a c c i a - p i z z a hybrid called mustazzed- du. Mustazzeddus have an irregular round shape and their edges are folded over to partly cover the tomato f i l l i n g , m a d e w i t h s l i c e d cherry or Sardinian toma- t o e s , g a r l i c , o n i o n , b a s i l , salt, and extra virgin olive oil, of course. There is also a variant of it traditionally tied to Sarrabus, in southern Sardinia, and called prazzid- da. Prazzidda is not dissimi- lar from mustazzeddu, but its filling is richer, and often includes, along with toma- t o e s , e g g p l a n t , b u t a l s o cheese or onions, and peas. According to Steve DiMag- gio of La Cucina Italiana US, pinpointing the origin of these dishes isn't simple, b u t t h e y l i k e l y e v o l v e d f r o m p a n e c a r a s a u , t h e w a f e r - t h i n , c r u n c h y f l a t - bread typical of the island. B e c a u s e p a n e c a r a s a u i s often topped with tomatoes and other fresh ingredients, b o t h m u s t a z z e d d u a n d prazzida were likely, initial- l y , a v a r i a t i o n o f h e a v i l y topped carasau. Let's move to Sicily now for two delicious pizza-style dishes, Palermo's sfin- c i o n e a n d T r a p a n i ' s rianata. Now, sfincione is one of my all-time favorite t h i n g s , s o I m a y b e a b i t b i a s e d h e r e . A f r i e n d o f m i n e m a k e s i t a n d e v e r y time she comes visiting I have her bake it for me. Just like sardenaira, sfincione has a much thicker, fluffier c r u s t t h a n o t h e r p i z z a s . Probably hailing from the t o w n o f B a g h e r i a , b u t inspired by a recipe invented by the nuns of the San Vito monastery, it was first baked in the mid-17th century. It is characterised by a very fla- v o r s o m e t o m a t o s a u c e e n r i c h e d w i t h a n c h o v i e s , golden onions, caciocavallo, p e c o r i n o a n d o r e g a n o , w h i c h n e e d s t o c o o k f o r hours to ensure all flavors are properly mixed. Key is also the addition of bread- crumb, which is toasted and m i x e d w i t h t h e c h e e s e s before being spread on top of the sfincione. Always in Sicily, but in the city of Trapani, we have t h e r i a n a t a , w h i c h i s a close relative of the sfin - cione. Its dough, too, is on the thicker side, and its top- p i n g s a r e s i m i l a r , t o o : chopped tomatoes, sardines o r a n c h o v i e s , g a r l i c , chopped parsley, Sicilian p e c o r i n o a n d , o f c o u r s e extra virgin olive oil. But t h e t o c c o d e l l o c h e f , t h e c h e f ' s t o u c h , c o m e s a f t e r rianata is baked, when you add loads of oregano on top. Indeed its name, riana- ta, comes from origanata, or "full of oregano." It seems that rianata was born as a cucina povera dish, that is, as a way not to waste ingre- d i e n t s a n d p r e p a r a t i o n s which were leftover from other meals. It was so good that, soon, it just broke out of Trapani to enjoy populari- ty across the island. Interestingly, when in the U S y o u a s k f o r a s l i c e o f Sicilian pizza, what you're getting is the great-grand- child of sfincione and riana- t a : w e k n o w t h a t I t a l i a n m i g r a n t s b r o u g h t a l o n g recipes from the Belpaese and that they used them as a w a y t o r e m i n i s c e a b o u t home, but also as a source o f c o h e s i o n t o k e e p t h e community solid. And it's undeniable that, if there is one thing that brings people happily together, is a good plate of food. Unknown pizzas of Italy FRANCESCA BEZZONE A delicious slice of Sicilian sfincione (Photo: Claudio Rampinini/Dreamstime) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE TRADITIONS Mustazzeddu from Sardinia (Photo: Patrizio Martorana/Dreamstime)

• Cover