Margherita

In 1889, the pizza was named after Margherita, Queen consort of the kingdom of Italy. The pizza bears the three colours of the Italian flag: red tomatoes, green basil and white mozzarella.

To this day, the citizens of Naples still debate, argue, compete for what is the most authentic pizza, the best ingredients and argue about which ingredients are used and how it's constructed.

There's no way I'm going to walk through this mine field and even if I visited Naples, I'm sure I'd still piss off someone from there.

Having said that, you can be sure there's absolutely no tolerance for Hawaiian pizza with pineapple, no Greek pizza with feta or worst still, an improvised pizza of salami, use of any leftover white cheese left in the fridge or the use of canned mushrooms.

I will be in Greece soon and although I'll be elbow deep in fabulous Greek food, pizza will not be one of the foods I will enjoy.

Greeks (in Greece) love pizza but it's not pizza as the Italians or American Italians know it. Frankly, by and large it's horrible!

I still shudder at the use of leftover cheeses such as Gouda, Milner or even grated Kasseri as a topping. It gets worse...no pepperoni but greasy salami or ham becomes the meat portion.

There's very little sauce on the pizza and jarred or canned mushrooms make even the decent made pizzas soggy!

There are some good pizza makers in Greece now but the bad still outnumber the good pizzerias. The Greeks have always made wonderful dough and pizza crust and lately I'm seeing wood burning ovens and the use of more traditional pizza ingredients.

If it sounds like I'm slamming pizza in Greece, well I am. However, I'm doing you a favour...you'll be well rewarded by instead eating local, fresh and regional Greek cuisine. Leave the pizza behind for movie night or the big game. You're on vacation...eat local, eat Greek...why not try out the Ladenia or go old skool and have a whack at the Pizza Margherita.

Pizza Margherita
(makes 1 large pizza or 2 small)

For the Dough
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/8 cup olive oil
1 heaping tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
Approx. 3 - 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

For the Topping
hand crushed can of San Marzano plum tomatoes
2-3 cloves of minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
dried oregano
fresh Mozzarella cheese
hand-torn fresh basil leaves

Pre-heated 400F oven

1. In a large bowl, add your yeast, sugar, and warm water and allow about 7-10 minutes to activate (as evidenced with the bubbling). Now add your salt and olive oil add about 2 cups of flour into the mixture. Keep on adding flour while kneading on a floured work surface until your dough is pliable and no longer sticks to your hands. NOTE: (flour amounts vary from 3 to 3 1/4 cups flour, depending on the weather you are experiencing and how the flour and yeast react.
2. Spread some olive oil on your round baking pan and sprinkle some fine semolina flour. Roll out your pizza dough to the size of pizza you desire. You may now preheat your oven.
3. After hand-crushing your plum tomatoes, tear them up and spread the tomatoes over the surface of your dough. Season with some salt and pepper and sprinkle the minced garlic and dried oregano over the sauce.
4. Now cut (or hand tear) your Mozzarella cheese and spread it over the surface of your pizza (do not entirely cover your pizza with cheese, it will melt).
5. Bake on the middle rack for 15-20 minutes or until the edges start to brown and your cheese has just melted and browned just a bit.
6. As soon as the pizza is out of the oven, tear your basil leaves and spread them over the surface of the pizza.
7. Serve immediately with cold beer or a bottle of good red wine.
   

Traditional Pizza From Canada

I like the gourmet pizzas as much as anyone else but I always go back and never tire of the classic pizza with pepperoni, mozzarella, mushrooms and green peppers. I will in no way try to sway you from your favourite 'Za but please, take the the time to make it at home. If you have kids, let them help you...you'll have "sous-chefs" in-training in no time!

For those that are reading my blog from Greece, your pizza requires um, improvement! Greeks love pizza (Greekstyle), which is a super-thick crust, salami or ham, little tomato sauce, jarred/canned mushrooms and they use any white cheese save for mozzarella! Pizza is not one of the Greece's strong points.

Onto proper pizza. Make your own dough, it's not that hard (especially if you have a food processor). Use good & fresh ingredients and be generous with toppings, you're making this at home, baby! Make your own pizza sauce. You can once again control the salt content in your food and you can tailor the taste to your family's liking. I'm providing a recipe for 1 large pizza.

Traditional Pizza

Pizza Dough (food processor)
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp active yeast
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

1. Pour in warm water. Test it with your hand. It should feel very warm, but comfortable. Add the honey and salt. Mix on low for about 20 seconds. Add the yeast and mix on low for another 5 seconds.
   
2. Add 1 cup of flour, mix on low for 10 seconds. Add the olive oil and mix until blended (about 15 or 20 seconds more). Add the rest of the flour and mix on high for about a minute or two. The dough should turn into a ball and roll around the processor. If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Adding water or flour as needed to get the right consistency will assure you always get a perfect dough. Just remember to do it in small amounts.
3. Once the dough is balled up, place the ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute. This builds the gluten which helps the dough to rise and become fluffy when cooked. Place the dough in a plastic grocery bag or a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise.
4. After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size. Punch it down. That's right, give it a good smack so it deflates. Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is now ready to be rolled out. Make sure you have plenty of four on your rolling surface. Before placing your pizza dough on in your pan, line the bottom with some flour and corn meal. This will prevent sticking and give your pizza that authentic pizzeria texture.
   

Tomato Sauce
I use a bottle of good pomodoro sauce. Look for the jars of Italian tomato puree. Pour the entire bottle into a pot and gently bring to a boil then lower to simmer. Add the following ingredients according to your tastes: salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried oregano.

Toppings
Don't get too busy with the pizza. A traditional pizza has pepperoni, mozzarella, mushrooms and if you like, bacon.

I like to buy my pepperoni whole so that I can slice it to my desired thicknessand it's cheaper. Buy decent mozzarella. Not the best mozzarella, just good mozzarella ( I think the primo stuff gets lost in pizza). Slices of green bell peppers work well and slice fresh white or button mushrooms. As for the bacon, you'll need about half a package to cover your entire pizza.

Finally, this is the order in which I lay out my pizza:

1. Spread your sauce on the dough and do not oversauce, just cover
2. Spread out your shredded mozzarella
3. Lay out your pepperoni slices
4. Place your mushrooms and then your green peppers

Place your pizza on the middle rack of a pre-heated 400F oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the edge of the crust has just browned.