If we are purists, there is only one pizza: the MargheritaHowever, in recent years, books have shown us that this flatbread base is a magnificent canvas on which to print creativity and seasonality. As defined by chef Carme Ruscalleda in the book’s prologue Takeaway pizzas (Planeta Gastro), there are “survival pizzas and gastronomic excitement pizzas.”
That’s right. The first pizza in history was created out of pure survival. Although its origins are vague, it seems that in the Middle Ages, the Turks entered the port of Naples with some flatbreads seasoned with condiments that fascinated the Italians, who soon adapted the recipe and turned it into the star dish of street stalls. In the 16th century, tomatoes were added, from America, and here began the history of pizza as we know it today.
In the aforementioned book, Takeaway pizzaswritten by chefs Jérôme Quilbeuf and Rie Yasui (both of whom were part of the now closed restaurants Sant Pau, in Sant Pol de Mar and in Tokyo, and now run an establishment in the Barcelona neighborhood of Sarrià, Grandma Maria), is a praise to the signature pizzas, to those that respond to the need to use the market product to create new ideas, to those that show culinary trends in their preparation, to the pizzas that do not come from other worlds. This recipe book, which by the way is presented in a cardboard box (like takeaway pizzas) shows everything from the classic marinara with garlic, oregano and tomato; to the pizza with black truffle, to the okonomiyaki —with Katsuobushi and nori seaweed—or the Frida Kahlo, with jalapeños, beef and red onion, among others. The book adds a section of sweet pizzas and recipes provided by some of the greats of our country’s gastronomy such as that of Christian Escribà, Carles Gaig or Paco Morales, among others.
Pizza is haute cuisine (Oberon publishing). That is the blunt title given to his book by Jesús Marquina, five-time world champion in pizza making. “Pizza does not have to be fast food (…) It is a dish that has been studied much more than many other haute cuisine dishes,” writes the author. The book begins with a few initial brushstrokes on the origins of pizza: understanding where it comes from in order to understand how it should really be made. Then it shows how to make the dough, how to ferment it and how to work it before starting to put into practice the more than 50 recipes included: oxtail pizza, pepito pizza —with sirloin—, with ham and melon caviar, or Cervantes, with lamb sweetbreads and mozzarella pearls, among other versions. “Think about quality and think with quality. The result will be gourmet (…) you will discover that pizza is haute cuisine,” says the author.
If there is a team in the world that bases its work on experimentation and research, it is The Cooking Lab, led by Nathan Myhrvold and whose think tank is located in Bellevue, just outside Seattle. We owe them important works such as the Modernist Cuisinehe Modernist Bread and, in 2022, the Modernist Pizza (all translated into Spanish by Phaidon). This pizza bible is the best study ever made on this preparation. Three volumes, each with more than 300 pages, on the history, the fundamentals, the techniques, the ingredients and, obviously, the pizza recipes. The historical part is a journey through the centuries following the steps of that first-born bread that would soon become pizza. Then, there is the second volume on technique and fermentation processes. To finish with a varied recipe book that gives voice to the ways of making pizza in each part of the world: along with the traditional Margherita There is Hawaiian pizza with kalua pork, for example. When its author and project director, Francisco J. Migoya, spoke about this book for the first time in Spain, he responded to the question of the incredulous Spaniards about whether there really is so much to say about pizza with a “yes. It is a seemingly simple morsel, but if you look into it, it is deeply interesting.”
Haute cuisine pizzas and laboratory pizzas. But could pizza be considered a healthy food? “This question has been on my mind ever since I started to become more aware of the harm to our health caused by refined flours and certain types of fats. The truth is that I think that someone over time has spoiled our favourite dish,” writes Roberto Brisciani, in the book Honestpizza Revolution (editorial Vergara). In reality, if we stop to think about it, a pizza is nothing more than a mixture of flour, water, oil, salt, yeast, tomato and cheese. For this reason, in order for it to be healthy, it must not contain additives or ultra-refined flours. In this book, Roberto Brisciani and Julia de la Morena put this and many other questions on the table: whether or not it is healthy; whether it can only be considered a typical snack of the fast food street food or from the frozen food department of supermarkets… The book is written with a concerned eye on healthy eating and a staunch defense of well-made pizza: with sourdough and natural products. Thus we find different, original and tasty ideas such as Eggcelence, with mozzarella and quail eggs; the Shrimp Flower, with fresh shrimp and zucchini flowers; the Very fictional, with sugar-free red fruit coulis and figs; or Carciofolla, with artichoke hearts.
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