Pizza Toppings: Simple/Elaborate, Traditional/Unusual

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Posts moved from "Cooking with Myhrvold and Migoya's Modernist Pizza," to maintain focus.

 

I have no doubt the problem was the fault of kale.

 

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I have no doubt the problem was the fault of kale.

 

Which certainly belongs nowhere near pizza!

[Honkman]

17 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Which certainly belongs nowhere near pizza!

Kale on pizza is great - just be a little bit more open-minded. Just repeating stuff you are used to is so boring

[Chris Hennes]

For the record I thought the kale was good, but I like kale. There is a similar recipe in the book that calls for escarole instead... maybe you'd like that better?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

10 minutes ago, Chris Hennes said:

For the record I thought the kale was good, but I like kale. There is a similar recipe in the book that calls for escarole instead... maybe you'd like that better?

 

If the question was addressed to me, almost certainly.

 

[weinoo]

6 hours ago, Chris Hennes said:

For the record I thought the kale was good, but I like kale. There is a similar recipe in the book that calls for escarole instead... maybe you'd like that better?

 

6 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

If the question was addressed to me, almost certainly.

 

If the question was addressed to me, I'll take my escarole blanched, then sautéed in olive oil with garlic, and served as a side dish.

 

8 hours ago, Honkman said:

Kale on pizza is great

 

No - it's not great. On pizza, it's just annoying.

[Honkman]

4 hours ago, weinoo said:

On pizza, it's just annoying.

Why is it annoying on pizza - it’s just one ingredient to work with (and pairs nicely with many other toppings)

[Duvel]

31 minutes ago, Honkman said:

Why is it annoying on pizza - it’s just one ingredient to work with (and pairs nicely with many other toppings)

Maybe because to become palatable it needs to be cooked at least 3h with a looooot of pork products, by which time your pizza crust in the oven looks either like something resembling items they‘d study in vulcanology or the remains of count Dracula after being hit with a stake in the thorax (the outcome depending of course on the flour you are using) …

[weinoo]

All of @Duvel's exquisite explanation above, plus:  the only green stuff that should be on pizza, in my opinion, is basil.

 

And I get it - people put arugula and all sorts of things on pizza now, but certainly never when or where I grew up having pizza.

[Honkman]

2 hours ago, Duvel said:

Maybe because to become palatable it needs to be cooked at least 3h with a looooot of pork products,

 

Not sure if I agree - you can make some great dishes with briefly sautéed kale (including as topping on pizza which we have done quite often)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

If this thread teaches us nothing else it's that pizza is a catholic concept.   And certainly the diversity of our palates, from kale to green peppers.  

[Katie Meadow]

Just a personal observation about my own preferences in pizza, which are changing as I get older. I no longer like a multitude of toppings; in fact I like my toppings to be very minimal. The current trend, at least with restaurant pizza, is to pile them on, the more the better. The last time we tried ordering pizza we were in Atlanta, with my daughter an her husband, and the place they were going to order from didn't even list a Margherita pizza on the menu. It was more like, pick three toppings for X price. Hello, no.

 

We used to do artichoke pizza or radicchio, but now we don't bother. I don't care and I'm lazy, I guess. And although I am not vegetarian, I actually don't like any kind of animal protein on my pizza.

 

Unless in a social situation (what's that?) where ordering pizza for a group, we almost never eat commercial or restaurant pizza. W make it ourselves, and it is very plain. My idea of a perfect pizza is a thin crust, minimal tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella (not a thick layer), a little basil, and if it's ripe tomato season, a few thin tomato slices on top.  I like my salad greens on the side, please, as a....well, salad. 

 

Also not a kale person, raw or cooked, so the question of whether or not it belongs on pizza is irrelevant to me. 

 

 

[Annie_H]

On 3/30/2021 at 5:15 PM, weinoo said:

Here's what Artichoke Basille's eponymous (disgusting) pizza looks like...

Thank you for making that a tiny pic. (Shudder) disgusting indeed

 

That said, pizza preference is all over the place. Hence the enormity of ModernistPizza. We have given pizza parties for years and many years of family reunions. Both families drive/fly in from all over arriving at different times. It is a tradition that I make that first meal a pizza party. Both are all over the place in keto, celiac, vegan---etc. One sister is 'no night shade'. The 'blood type' diet.

I always start with a few pies of our favorite, then take special requests. 

Artichoke, olive, cherry toms, prosciutto, 3 cheese, fresh basil at the service. Mandoline cardstock thin just around the edges over a very thin spread of pesto---just the edge. Small amount of sauce. Small amount of toppings. Sometimes a bit of reconstituted porcini drained. 

 

I stock everything above 24/7. Pizza night at home is about every other month. I'll make 5 or six while I'm at it. Have one or two and freeze the rest cut in half for lunches or a light quick dinner snack. 

 

Can't think of a vegetable or green leaf we don't like. (except green bell pepper---I use poblano). Non of it on our home pizza. Arugula is ok.

Pizza parties I usually have a load of choices. All the peppers hot and sweet, fennel, red onion, yada yada. I draw the line at oddities like cream cheese, lox, capers, everything bagel seasoning. 

 

2020 I ordered two big 5 pound cans from a restaurant supply. A good rinse in vinegar water and into the freezer---5-6 to a bag. Even better are similar sized frozen baby artichokes from our Italian market. TJ's has them but I'm not a TJ's shopper. Not convenient. 

They are so much better than the little tasteless jars in oil that are often chewy hard like bay leaves. The frozen go straight from freezer into the oven to thaw/roast or skillet to char/steam. Low and slow like dumplings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Annie_H]

On 3/30/2021 at 5:22 PM, Chris Hennes said:

That's really interesting about the lack of artichoke pizza on all those menus. I wonder why not? It just doesn't seem that outlandish to me to want to put artichokes on pizza. I mean, grilled artichokes are a thing, so it's not like there's a problem with high heat. And as you suggest, I'm making white pie, not a tomato sauce variety, so it's not a disagreement with tomatoes stopping it. Too much liquid?

I would not call it common but certainly not unusual. Motorino in Willamsburg had it on their menu early on. It is posted in one of the SeriousEats reviews. And why I initially went there. Napoli/neapolitan style pizza is not a favorite of mine. Off the regular menu now but might be in the 'daily pie' special. 

Very common in Rome. I lived in Rome 1984-85. On a student budget I lived on street pies, al taglio. Cut by the kilo. Fridays night a walk to Trestevere for wood fired knife and fork pies before the discoteca. We tried a few places but agreed on one we all liked because of customizing. Artichoke, olive, porcini, gorgonzola. Might have been Da Poeta but looks different and high end now inside. Same outside. Maybe new owner. 

A few more from my kitchen... 

 

Similar but never exactly the same. Bigger pic is brunch pizza with cracked eggs.

Edited November 4, 2021 by Annie_H (log)

[Annie_H]

These are recent good ones. I recently, the past year, have been breaking off chunks of pecorino and zipping through my Blendtec twister jar. 3-4 seconds I get sandy pebbles. A few more seconds I get snow. (grating by hand is a drag). I zip a weeks worth. Mostly for popcorn. 

Fresh summer tomato slices with garlic heads roasted to concentrate and remove moisture. Caramelized garlic is so sweet. 

[Annie_H]

Mixed household here of pizza preference. I'll go anywhere usually, even Neapolitan puffy crust. As long as they have decent salads and sides. Good quality ingredients. Not commercial cheap LMM motz. Too much dough and carbs. 

Pizza in Naples was not a favorite. 

DH is the bread baker. I handle 80% of day-to-day. He makes Forkish pizza dough but very rare due to time involved. (and he makes a mess). 

We have a favorite once a year. It has been a few years since I need to 'see' my purchased clams in person. Internet shipping no way. FairwayMarket would give a heads up via e-mail when a big fresh batch came in. (Fairway gone and bankrupt---bummer)

 

 

 

 

[Annie_H]

I've never cared much for mile high toppings. Often wet and under cooked. When DH would teach my nieces and nephews pizza dough forming with Forkish or what ever recipe---always fun but they loaded up toppings. Fun teachings that often involved valuable knife skills---(not many in our families can cook at all). He would struggle with three four. pies.  I had a half dozen out of the oven in a half hour. 

Too many topping choices are wet and under-cooked from a fresh dough start.

Add 4-5 eggs for a super frittata. Potato crust. 

I lived on this shi+ts for two years in Rome.

 

Thin and cheap on a student diet. Link similar ---https://www.romewise.com/pizza-in-rome.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I wanted a change from my usual red pizza.  I drained some mozzarella and ricotta.  I whisked the ricotta with heavy cream, nutmeg, and white pepper.  Spread on the dough and dotted with mozzarella.  When it came time for the picture I was greeted with "Battery Exhausted."  I fail as a photographer.  By that time I was pretty exhausted myself.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Update:  after last night's white pizza failure, I reheated the leftover pizza (thank you anova) with a pile of sliced sopressata.  Not bad, if I don't mind saying so myself.  Camera battery is charged, my battery is still exhausted.

 

 

[heidih]

To me - waste of good delicate seafood especially with the strong sauces 

[TdeV]

My second best pizza is shrimp halves, whole sage leaves, fresh goat cheese, small amount of grated Parmesan Reggiano. 6 minutes.

[AlaMoi]

people who have pizza four-10 times a week probably need 'something new and different'

I do total from scratch pizza at home every 4-6 weeks and the classic (but quality) ingredients work, every time.

a white pizza - in our case unleavened FlammeKuchen - completes the satiating . . .

a not-so-local Wegmans has real (imported) Speck - spatterings of "things genuine" . . .

[Annie_H]

5 hours ago, Victoria36 said:

Ever tried shrimp, crab and lobster pizza?

Can work if someone is willing to pay for it. Depending on the location. 

Would be nice to see a picture.

We have a bakers dozen of memorable meals. 

Top three Alberta Canada, two Mexico, my clam pizza, Bobby Flay's pork chops when he cooked at MiracleGrill. A lobster roll when on the road through NovaScotia every year, my cod three ways caught that morning by us...yada

We dream about this pizza I make but I need clams so fresh and know where they come from. Last clam pizza was 2019

No doubt your pizza could be great.

 

 

 

[TicTac]

@Annie_H - are you pre-cooking your potato base crust?  Is it simply sliced taters?  White or Yukon?

 

Love the idea.  Doing a potato 'risotto' tomorrow with wild shrooms.

 

 

[Annie_H]

14 minutes ago, TicTac said:

@Annie_H - are you pre-cooking your potato base crust?  Is it simply sliced taters?  White or Yukon?

 

Love the idea.  Doing a potato 'risotto' tomorrow with wild shrooms.

Typical left handed, dyslexic, bad communication on my part. Only the outer edge of my pizza is mandolin card stock thin potato. Thin skinned white and red potato best but use what I have. I use a rolling pin like Ducali for dough not wanting a thick edge that is so popular now--neopolitan. 

Just potato thin cut and only the outer edge. All around. Enjoying through each slice, we get various flavors like getting 'al taglio' in Rome when purchasing 4-5 varieties buy weight. 

The crust is not potato at all. I just do not like the new recent pizza craze/crazy wood fired loaf of bread edge baguette so popular. Even DavidKinch is doing the same. I suppose it is a good money maker for a young crowd. Bread used to come to the table for free but now it has a bit of sauce and $$$. 

At home we want quality toppings Roman style. Thin crust, not heavy carb.

 

My once a year clam pizza is Neapolitan.