Lazio Style Pizzas

Lazio style: Pizza in Lazio (Rome), as well as in many other parts of [Italy is available in two different styles: (1) Take-away shops sell pizza rustica or pizza al taglio. This pizza is cooked in long, rectangular baking pans and relatively thick (1–2 cm). The crust is similar to that of an English muffin, and the pizza is often cooked in an electric oven. It is usually cut with scissors or a knife and sold by weight. (2) In pizza restaurants (pizzerias), pizza is served in a dish in its traditional round shape. It has a thin, crisp base quite different to the thicker and softer Neapolitan style base. It is usually cooked in a wood-fired oven, giving the pizza its unique flavor and texture. In Rome, a pizza napoletana is topped with tomato, mozzarella, anchovies and oil (thus, what in Naples is called pizza romana, in Rome is called pizza napoletana).

Types of Lazzio Style Pizza

Types of Lazio-style pizza include:

  • Pizza romana (in Naples): tomato, mozzarella, anchovies, oregano, oil;
  • Pizza viennese: tomato, mozzarella, German sausage, oregano, oil;
  • Pizza capricciosa ("capricious pizza"): mozzarella, tomato, mushrooms, artichokes, cooked ham, olives, oil (in Rome, prosciutto raw ham is used and half a hard-boiled egg is added);
  • Pizza quattro stagioni ("four seasons pizza"): same ingredients for the capricciosa, but ingredients not mixed;
  • Pizza quattro formaggi ("four cheese pizza"): tomatoes, mozzarella, stracchino, fontina, gorgonzola (sometimes ricotta can be swapped for one of the last three);
  • Sicilian-style pizza has its toppings baked directly into the crust. An authentic recipe uses neither cheese nor anchovies. "Sicilian" pizza in the United States is typically a different variety of product made with a thick crust characterized by a rectangular shape and topped with tomato sauce and cheese (and optional toppings). Pizza Hut's "Sicilian Pizza", introduced in 1994, is not an authentic example of the style as only garlic, basil, and oregano are mixed into the crust;
  • White pizza (pizza bianca) omits the tomato sauce, often substituting pesto or dairy products such as sour cream. Most commonly, especially on the east coast of the United States, the toppings consist only of mozzarella and ricotta cheese drizzled with olive oil and spices like fresh basil and garlic. In Rome, the term pizza bianca refers to a type of bread topped with olive oil, salt and, occasionally, rosemary leaves. It’s also a Roman style to bottom the white pizza with figs, the result called pizza e fichi (pizza with figs);
  • Ripieno or calzone is a pizza in the form of a half moon, sometimes filled with ricotta, salami and mozzarella; it can be either fried or oven baked.
  • New Haven as served at Frank Pepe's uses whole clams with garlic, olive oil and oregano, on a thin, brittle crust and traces its roots to Catania in Sicily.[4]
  • California pizza was establised by Los Angeles based chef Wolfgang Puck, who made pizza a "vehicle for unusual and delicious toppings like duck sausage and goat cheese and sun-dried tomato" as served at California Pizza Kitchen chain.