I firmly believe pizza should be its own food group. So living in a country where you can find pizza anywhere you go had lead to a food fulfilled life and many Eat. Pray. Love. moments. You know that scene, the one where she has eaten so much pizza she needs to buy new jeans so she and her friend go out shopping and the hilarity of trying to button the jeans ensues.
The pizza that caused this scene? Pizza Margherita in Napoli.
Pizza Margherita has to be one of the better-known types of pizza and the supposed history of its name is quite the story. According to the reading, Queen Margherita and King Umberto I were visiting Naples and the Queen was bored with the French cuisine being served to them and desired something local. A local pizza maker was called to prepare a variety of pizzas for the Queen, one of which consisted of tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. This was the Queen's favorite and thus the pizza maker changed the name of the pizza from pizza alla mozzarella to pizza Margherita. Although, as the author points out, there are many flaws and issues with this story it's a celebrated story to this day!
One of my favorite things about Italy is that they will put ANYTHING on pizza, and I do mean anything. From sweet Nutella pizza to savory artichoke and tomato; from normal Margherita to the wild french fry and hot dog....every taste can be satisfied. I also love the difference between street pizza, which tends to be almost focaccia-like, compared to the pizza you get when you order in a sit-down restaurant, which is our typical circular thin crust. My favorite pizza I've had here was a little unusual by our standards. It was the focaccia-like street pizza that was topped with a tomato sauce, artichokes, green olives, and sausage and....it had no cheese (cue the gasps). It was simple, fresh, and delicious. Pizza is practically a religion here, so it's no wonder there's such a diverse sample to pick and choose from; everyone can have what they want...and if you're lucky, someone might just name a pizza after you.
Ciao for now!
Veni. Vidi. Mangia.
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