Italian Style Pizza

3044 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, Ca
Ph: 408 296-1052

The Roots of Pizza

The creation that we call pizza humbly began as an inexpensive means to feed the poor of Italy. Discarded by the chefs of the time as a "plebian" meal, it was virtually ignored as a legitimate cuisine until the mid-1700s, when Ferdinand I of Bourbon, known as one who "loved the simple foods of his people", decided to sample the pizza. He then attempted to have the dish added to the list of official court dishes but was prevented from doing so by his wife.

Within 100 years, pizza had grown in popularity to become the most important mainstays of Neapolitan cooking. It even replaced the mainstay of pasta as a meal for the working class due to its ability to be eaten without utensils.

Italian Pizza vs. the Rest

Although pizza has survived the transition to American cuisine more [faithfully to the original] than many other foreign dishes, there are some elements of the dish that are undeniably Italian. In contrast to the classic American pizza - piled high with plenty of mozzarella cheese and a host of toppings, traditional Italian pizza appear simple at first sight.

A thin crust is covered by a flavorful sauce. Original pizzas hosted a white sauce, but tomato-based sauces became the standard soon after the introduction of the tomato to Italian cuisine. Cheese is selected based on how its flavor will complement the other toppings and applied so that the flavors of the crust and sauce are readily discernable. In the same fashion, toppings are selected for their interaction with cheese and sauce, and applied so as not to mask the other flavors. In general, the Neapolitan pizza promotes the maxim that "less is more" and do not allow for competing flavors.

The Process

Vesuvio Unique Italian Catering Services has adopted the traditional Neapolitan pizza making process. Starting with the recipe for the dough Vesuvio lets the dough rise twice in preparation. Tomato sauce is applied to all but the very outer edges of the dough. Cheese and other toppings are then added with some selections from old world Italy such as prosciutto de Parma, supresatta, arugula etc. The pizza is baked in an imported Italian wood-burning oven and served piping hot.