Real Pizza

Book excerpt: A culinary trip on a Vespa to discover the authentic pizza napoletana. Featuring the recipes and techniques of eleven legendary Neapolitan pizza makers, this book reveals how to make authentic Neapolitan pizza at home. Wood-fired oven baking and fresh ingredients, such as San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and extra virgin olive oil distinguish Neapolitan pizza from other pies. Chefs Enzo De Angelis and Antonio Sorrentino guide readers down narrow streets into the neighborhoods of Naples, to hear the stories of the families who, generation after generation, were the creators of this culinary legend known and appreciated all over the world. Like Ciro Oliva, the owner of the pizzeria “Da Concettina ai Tre Santi,” carries on his family’s tradition of pay-it-forward pizza, where customers pay for pizza for the hungry. Or the story of Luigi Condurro, a sixth-generation pizza maker whose family invented the Cosacca pizza as a gift to Czar Nicholas II on his visit to Naples. Enriched with anecdotes by the most revered pizza makers, this unique cookbook includes forty delicious, authentic recipes, including Pizza Capricciosa with mozzarella, ham, mushrooms, and black olives; Pizza Port’Alba with mussels, clams, shrimp, and tomatoes; and Pizza Pear with smoked mozzarella di bufala, gorgonzola cheese, slices of pork, and pear. Complete with a practical dough tutorial for the home cook, this book is a must-have for Neapolitan pizza aficionados and novices everywhere.