--- The Pizza Show explores the world of pizza. From New York to New Haven to Chicago, Frank Pinello, our host, meet the amazing characters behind the food that has transformed America. Get a slice of the series via SBS On Demand here. ----
We love pizza - in all its forms, from charry Neapolitan-style discs to rustic rounds cooked in a home-built pizza oven. So we're in chewy, crusty, cheese-topped ecstasy with The Pizza Show on SBS On Demand here). But beyond all the eating Frank Pinello is doing on-screen on our behalf, we're grateful for something else: garlic knots. And the thoughts they have inspired.
Frank, you see, is a New Yorker. A New York pizzeria owner, in fact, and garlic knots are a very New York thing. Exactly when these little twists were first made is open to debate - some say the 1970s, others say the 1940s. But what you won't get any argument about is the fact that they are a genius way to use up scraps of pizza dough.
So, of course, we had to nab Frank's own recipe for garlic knots for you (link below)! Because although we love pizza, that doesn't stop us from loving the idea of going one step further. So here are some of our fave ways to use pizza dough, beyond the usual Italianate cheese-topped disc.
Roman pizza - thick, full of holes - makes truly excellent sandwiches. This one, from Stefano Manfredi, use three types of cheese along with tomato and chargrilled eggplant.
Source: Murdoch Books / © Bree Hutchins
With more than half the population believed to be of Italian descent, it should come as no surprise that Argentines have their own style of pizza. The fugazzeta – derived from the word ‘focaccia’ – was created by a Genoese immigrant baker at the beginning of the last century and consists of a bread-like base and mountains of onion and cheese. Find the version below with mozzarella, provolone and green olives here, and another version that uses cream and mozzarella, and a lighter touch on the onions, here.
Source: Anson Smart
The New York Times gave Frank Pinello's garlic knots at his pizzeria Best Pizza a big thumbs up. Most, they wrote, let you down, but not Best Pizza's pecorino and parsley topped twists. If you want to see what the fuss is about, here's Frank's do-it-at-home version.
Helen Razer is forgoing garlic in solidarity with her food-sensitive partner ... for now. Source: Sydney Kramer
Calzone and bread pockets are a great way to use up leftovers. Silvia Colloca makes this calzone with stewed capsicum and mozzarella-like cheese called caciocavallo (get the recipe here), but as long as your filling isn't too wet and sloppy, your imagination is the limit when it comes to calzone creativity.
5. Breakfast or brunch
Source: Made in Italy with Sylvia Colloca
We'll admit, we love cold leftover pizza for breakfast. But equally deserving of a pizza lover's day-start affections is breakfast pizza, or perhaps brunch pizza if you're making the dough on the morning you're cooking (you could pop the leftover dough in the fridge overnight, and then just let it come to room temperature the next day before shaping and using). These breakfast pizzettes, by Rich Harriss, are cooked on a barbecue.
Brunch pizzette, from Fire and Smoke: Get Grilling with 120 Delicious Barbecue Recipes by Rich Harris, published by Kyle Books Source: Photography: Martin Poole
Make your own choc-hazelnut spread and use it in this sweet pizza (pizza di cioccolata e nocciole).
Source: Feast magazine
Giada De Laurentiis puts a sweet spin on things: jump over here to see her Cheat's Italian Doughnuts Using Pizza Dough
