We owe pizza, at least as we know it today, to the lazzaroni, the poor Neapolitans who were so nicknamed because their ragged appearance recalled the biblical story of Lazarus’ resurrection and emergence from the tomb. Since the lazzaroni were always on the road looking for work, they needed a cheap and easy meal. Pizza met their needs, but it took a long time for it to become one of the most popular foods on the planet. We even know that other social groups in Naples, as well as many visitors, not only didn’t buy pizza from the big boxes of street vendors, but considered the dish disgusting (!).
One hundred and thirty-five years ago, the Italian royal couple, Umberto I and Queen Margherita, tired of the complicated French dishes they were served day and night, asked to try the small pizzas that were circulating in Naples. They were delighted, and since then, with the royal “stamp of approval,” the popularity of pizza has skyrocketed and reached almost every corner of the globe. Although the Neapolitan style is iconic, there is more than one type of pizza. On the occasion of three great new pizzerias that recently opened in Athens, we sample different flavors and styles of what is arguably the most famous fast food.
Neapolitan (and Neo-Neapolitan)
Thin and juicy, with a puffed cornicione (crust) and slightly burnt in places, Neapolitan pizza is the standard for most people. However, the requirements for a pizza to qualify as Neapolitan are too specific. For example, it must be baked in a wood-fired oven at a certain temperature for a certain number of seconds, the dough must have a certain level of moisture, the toppings must not exceed three – and the rules do not end there. The neo-Neapolitan school, on the other hand, is based on the Naples model, but leaves room for experimentation and evolution: from the ingredients to the crispier dough, and so on. Try the salsiccia e friarielli (bitter greens that Italians love) by Milanese Marco Zenaboni at the new Le Pizze di San Gennaro (172 Efxinou Pontou, Nea Smyrni, tel 210.933.9127), the masterfully made marinara sauce at Lisa (25 Fokionos Negri, Kypseli, tel 6936.772.165), or stop by Neapoli (98-100 Ippokratous, tel 210.363.8968) for pizza made with dough proofed for 48 hours and served with combinations like buffalo mozzarella, pistachio pesto, and mortadella di Bologna.
Pinsa: The pizza of Rome
Tracing the history of pizza even further back, we come to the Roman era. The first references to it are in Virgil’s Aeneid, where Aeneas and his companions, sitting under a tree, spread out “thin wheat pies as plates for their meal,” sprinkling them with mushrooms and herbs they had found in the woods and devouring them all at once, prompting Aeneas’ son to exclaim: “Look! We even ate our plates!” As we know it today, the pizza of Rome, or pinsa romana moderna, differs from the Neapolitan pizza in several ways. It has an oval shape, is crispier, and its dough is usually made with a combination of soy, rice and wheat flour, making it lighter and easier to digest. Lollo’s (3A Ethnikis Antistaseos, Halandri, tel 210.680.1040), one of the first to introduce pinsa to Athenians, makes delicious versions of this type of pizza, such as that with the famous anchovies fished in the Cantabrian Sea or the spicy nduja di Spilinga, which also features cherry tomatoes and smoked scamorza in addition to the spicy sausage after which it is named. Closer to the center of Athens, at Oh My Pinsa (21 Evfranoros, Pangrati, tel 211.411.8184), one may also try more exuberant versions (see carbonara) and more traditional combinations.
Deep-dish (or Chicago-style) pizza
After the Italians, the Americans take the lead worldwide in their love of pizza. When Italian immigrants crossed the Atlantic, bringing their tastes and habits with them, pizza began to find a new, wider audience. In 1943, however, a Texan named Ike Sewell turned pizza upside down (literally). To attract more customers to his Chicago pizzeria, he began offering an Americanized, richer version with thicker dough and an inverted architecture: cheese first, then the cold cuts, and finally the tomato sauce. Its name, deep-dish, comes from the pan used to make it, a deep, round pan brushed with oil. The dough is pressed and stretched over it so that it covers the edges, making the result appear more like a tart. In Athens, this rich version of pizza can be found at Steve’s (42 Salaminos, Kerameikos, tel 211.116.9126) and Flower (2 Dorileou, Mavili Square, tel. 210.646.5029).
Grandma pizza
Grandma pizza is a more home-style pizza. Crispier and made with very simple ingredients, it is baked in a shallow rectangular pan in a home oven and is believed to have originated in Long Island, New York. At the beginning of the 20th century, housewives who had emigrated with their families from various parts of southern Italy prepared in their kitchens, with the means at their disposal (which obviously did not include a wood-fired oven), a simple pizza as close as possible to that of their homeland. Later, grandma pizza began to appear in Long Island restaurants, and today it is on the menus of many restaurants (in Athens, it can be found at Steve’s – see above for details) with a touch of nostalgia.
Pizza fritta: Fried pizza
It looks a bit like a calzone (incidentally, a very nice calzone is currently being served at Morning Bar: 36 Odyssea Androutsou, Koukaki), only instead of coming out of the oven, it emerges golden and crispy out of the deep fryer. For pizza fritta, the dough is folded as it is, with the ingredients already spread on the surface, “sealed” with the necessary pinches at the edges, and then fried for less than a minute. Unfortunately, this version is not very common in Greece. However, if you happen to pass the aforementioned Pizze di San Gennaro, ask for it. Once a week pizza fritta is offered as the dish of the day, and it’s a big hit.
