‘Ciao’ down on these new pizzas
How do you cut carbs? If you answered, “with a pizza slicer,” get ready. Saturday’s National Pizza Day! And it all starts with great dough.
“The key is the simplicity. Our dough is flour, water, yeast and salt,” said John Sidoti, Pizzeria Vetri’s culinary director and executive chef. “Honestly, if there’s any secret, it’s the technique. And that comes with time.”
He uses an “out-of-this-world” Neapolitan dough, created by restaurant founder Marc Vetri and flavored by slow fermentation.
“It’s a four- to five-day process from start to finish,” Sidoti explained, adding that “it’s the best dough I’ve ever worked with.”
And while the dough remains the same, Pizzeria Vetri recently updated the menu at its King of Prussia and other locations. Choose from new pizzas like spinaci, aka baby spinach, and molla nera, featuring roasted mushrooms and black garlic aioli for a “richer flavor profile” and “umami.” Plus, don’t miss the seasonal special with shaved Brussels sprouts and marinated pomegranate.
“This is the first time we’ve really changed our core menu,” he said. “It’s about being a little lighter and a little more approachable.”
Just save room for Nutella pizza, a menu staple because “people love it.”
From dessert to drinks… head to Northbound in Souderton for a pizza martini, a blend of basil-infused Boardroom vodka, tomato and shallot water, pickled tomato and olive oil.
“It mimics a classic martini and also mimics a pizza,” described co-owner Cody Ferdinand. “It’s a pretty drink.”
Pair it with the restaurant’s Detroit-style pizza - a sauce-topped square pie with cheese and more baked into the crust. Cast iron pans make it extra-crispy “all around.”
As for the dough, “ours is a little bit different,” he noted. “It’s a mix between Neapolitan-style dough and traditional dough. It’s a 24-hour fermented dough.”
On National Pizza Day, try the special pizza du jour with fried prosciutto, caramelized onion and garlic cream or stick with the classics: cheese, veggie and pepperoni.
“I just think it’s a really cool style that you don’t see everywhere,” Ferdinand said. “It’s light, airy dough that meets the pan pizza.”
National Pizza Day = deals What’s even better than pizza? Saving some dough.
On Saturday, Feb. 9, visit any Pizzeria Vetri location for $10 margherita pizzas (12-inch).
And at Northbound in Souderton, order a pizza martini and get a Detroit-style pie for half price.
Speck Pizza
Ingredients
40 ounces pork speck Mozzarella Parmesan
Pizza dough
Pistachio pesto:
1 cup pistachios
1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons blended oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 or 3 cracks pepper
Roasted cipollini onions:
1 1/4 pounds cipollini onions 1/8 cup blended oil
Salt, to taste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar Instructions
For the speck: Slice slightly thicker than prosciutto. Place on a sheet tray and cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let cool and then crumble.
For the pesto: Pulse pistachios in a food processor. Once desired texture is reached, add blended oil, salt and pepper and pulse a few more times.
For the onions: Toss peeled onions in salt, pepper and blended oil and then roast on a hotel pan in a preheated 500-degree oven until charred on the outside and tender all the way through. Deglaze with balsamic vinegar.
Assembly: For each pizza, stretch the pizza dough and top with 4 ounces mozzarella, 1 ounce Parmesan and 2 ounces cipollini onions. Cook pizza at 500 degrees for about 8 minutes and then finish with 2 ounces pistachio pesto, 1 ounce speck and black pepper.
RECIPE COURTESY OF PIZZERIA VETRI
White Pizza with Garlic Cream Sauce
Ingredients
2 tablespoons chopped garlic 2 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste Fresh herbs like basil, oregano (optional)
6 cups mozzarella and Parmesan blend
Additional shaved Parmesan Pizza dough Optional toppings: broccoli and onion, crimini mushrooms Instructions
Preheat the oven as hot as it can go for at least an hour ahead of time. If you have a bread/pizza baking stone, preheat that too for an hour. Blend together garlic and heavy cream. You can add any fresh herbs you like: basil, oregano, etc. Stretch pizza dough and then spread with mozzarella and Parmesan. Add the garlic cream sauce and optional toppings. Finish with shaved Parmesan. Cook in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes six pizzas.
RECIPE COURTESY OF NORTHBOUND
Basic Pizza Dough
Ingredients
1 tablespoon active dry yeast 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, additional for greasing the bowl
Instructions
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water with olive oil and let stand until slightly foamy on top, about 10 minutes. Add 2 3/4 cup flour and salt to yeast, olive oil and water mixture. Mix with wooden spoon until combined and then dump dough onto counter to knead. Lightly flour your work surface and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball. Brush a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 hours. This dough is ready to be used in preparing a pizza, or it can now be refrigerated or frozen. Makes enough dough for two (12-inch) thin-crust pizzas or a (9-inch) thick-crust pizza.
For a whole wheat crust, you may substitute up to half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, but no more than half.
RECIPE COURTESY OF THE KITCHEN WORKSHOP
Learn to make pizza
Want to up your pizza game? Pizzeria Vetri offers Pizza After Dark classes at its Rittenhouse location; $85 per couple.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said John Sidoti, culinary director and executive chef. “People just get excited about making pizza.”
The Kitchen Workshop, a hands-on cooking school in Paoli, presents Table for Two: Grilled Gourmet Pizzas Friday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m.; $128 per couple.
And Sur La Table in King of Prussia hosts a Pizza Party class Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m.; $75.