Pizza and Pizzazz in Italy’s South
How do you cook the perfect pizza? The answer lies somewhere in Italy’s south, where the first pizza was invented by Raffaele Esposito back in 1889. When walking in Italy you’ll see how the simple ways of the South inspired this classic dish, which should ideally be made with only the most basic of ingredients.
Pizza-making in Italy certainly isn’t a slap-dash affair and, it’s only right that, a nation that loves its food so much, may lay down a few rules in order to prevent just anyone claiming to produce an authentic pizza. In fact, for a pizza to be classed as an authentic Neapolitan it must abide by rules proposed by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. There are three different types of Neapolitan pizza; the Marinara made with tomato, garlic, oregano, basil and olive oil; the Margarita with tomato, mozzarella, basil and extra virgin olive oil; and Margarita Extra where the mozzarella is served in fillets from the Campania region. A Neapolitan pizza,that abides by these rules is classed as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed product, under an EU regulation that protects food from a certain region. In fact, all the ingredients for an authentic Neapolitan pizza can be found locally, and walking in Italy’s Campania region should allow you to pick up everything you need to make Italy’s most famous pizza.