If you've been following along so far, you probably know I cook a lot of pasta, but I've never put in the effort to make real pizza by myself. When I'm at home and at college, I'm always in a rush so when I've tried to make something like pizza before, I don't take the time to include yeast and let the dough rise so what I make turns out to be more like a flatbread. However, this Sunday I woke up with an idea. Well, it was more of a craving but it became an idea. I had missed pizza since my trip to Campania when Nova Compsa stole my heart and dulled every previous pizza experience I've ever had. And since I had watched Giuseppe so closely at Nova Compsa as he worked his magic on the pizza dough and topped it with only the best ingredients, I decided that I was going to try to emulate that. I gathered up enough ingredients to make four pizzas, prepared some basic ingredients, and got to work.
The first pizza I made was a Margherita pizza with San Marzano tomatoes from Campania, a bit of garlic oil which I made, and Mozzarella di Bufala. It was wonderful, so I decided to keep making more pizza and experimenting.
Next, I wanted to try to recreate my favorite pizza from Nova Compsa but with a twist. I made a white pizza with only garlic oil, topped it with the Mozzarella di Bufala, artichokes, olives, tuna preserved in oil, and smoked tuna. The duo of tuna was the only change I made to the Nova Compsa version. I saw smoked tuna in the market and couldn't resist trying the two side by side.
The next pizza included a new type of cheese, as we had finished the Mozzarella di Bufala. We moved on to Burrata, a sweeter, even creamier mozzarella. One of the ingredients I had previously made to use as a topping was spicy honey. I took a hot pepper spread that Uncle Gelsomino had sent me home from Campania with, mixed it with honey I had bought from a local producer in Montalcino the day before, and added a bit of olive oil to it. It turns out, it was an excellent topping to pair with the San Marzano's, pancetta and burrata. This might have been my favorite pizza of the night.
Lastly, we made a breakfast pizza. I topped it with onion jam which I had made, burrata, pancetta, and an egg. Next time I make this pizza, I will add the egg later, after the crust has cooked, so that it won't cook through, and the yolk will remain runny. In this case, it did not.
I recommend taking an evening to make pizza to everyone. I actually think it's a must for good mental health to invite a friend over, get your hands dirty, and get creative with pizza! It's a really fun challenge that takes patience and teamwork, and a perfect way to spend a Sunday evening.