Best Pizza Toppings

In Italy, particularly in Naples, most pizzerias sell calzones too.  If you’re not familiar with them, a calzone is a circular pizza crust that’s topped with mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, and other pizza toppings, then folded and baked or fried.

Because of their portability, Italian street vendors sell calzones as a take-away lunch.  In sit-down restaurants, they’re often served with a dish of warm marinara sauce for dipping.  Traditional pizza toppings like Italian sausage or pepperoni are often added, as are vegetables like mushrooms and peppers.

Making a calzone is easy. Start with your favorite pizza dough.  Roll it out on a floured surface into a circle that’s about 12″ in diameter.  Depending on the ingredients you use and who you’re feeding, a calzone that size should feed one or two.  If everyone wants to add their own ingredients, make several smaller circles.

Top one side of the dough with about 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of grated mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.  Add the rest of your toppings, then fold the dough over, created a half-moon shaped pie.  Crimp the edges with a fork, then brush with olive oil or a little egg yolk.  Cut a couple of small vents in the dough.  Then bake in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

With a molten cheese center and crispy outer crust, calzones are absolutely addictive, and they work well with all sorts of ingredients.  The creaminess of the ricotta cheese makes them different from a pizza — more akin to lasagna.  But you can make a calzone in a fraction of the time.

One of the best Italian-style calzones is stuffed with cooked tiny meatballs and Italian sausage, with marinara sauce on the side.  If you put the sauce inside the calzone, the crust gets soggy.

If you’re not in the mood for Italian, make one with diced ham, grated Cheddar cheese, and some cooked broccoli florets.  Ham is also good with Swiss or Gruyere cheese and caramelized onions.  Or brush the dough with some Dijon mustard, and top with pepperoni, Parmesan, and Gruyere.  Delicious.

Spinach calzones are especially good, and you can make a Greek calzone by using sautéed spinach, feta cheese, and kalamata olives. Serve tzatziki sauce on the side.  Or substitute creamy goat cheese and add some chopped tomato.

For a Reuben calzone, spread Russian dressing on the dough and top with chopped pastrami, grated Swiss cheese and well-drained sauerkraut.   A Mexican calzone might contain ground beef mixed with salsa, Cheddar cheese, black olives, tomatoes, and sour cream.  And a barbecued chicken calzone with barbecue sauce, cooked rotisserie chicken, smoked Gouda cheese, green onions, and cilantro makes a great dinner.

A stromboli is similar to a calzone except that bread dough is used to make stromboli.  The dough is topped and rolled, not folded.  After it’s baked, the stromboli is cut into slices for serving.   It’s often made with the same pizza toppings that are used to make calzones.

The next time you’re planning to make a pizza, but want something a little different, try one of these calzones instead.

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Pizza may be Italy’s greatest invention and its most popular export.

The roots of pizza actually date back to Egypt and ancient Greece where flatbreads seasoned with herbs and baked on hot stones were a staple.   Italian pizza as we know it was first created in the 16th century, when tomatoes brought from the New World were crushed and spread on top of foccacia.

Water buffalos were brought from India around the same time, and before long, cheese was added.

Naples embraced the new dish and, over time, perfected it.  Today, it’s the spiritual home of Italian pizza, and the city that ardent pizza aficionados feel compelled to visit.

So serious is Naples — and Italy — about its pizza, that in 1998, the Italian government formally protected Neapolitan pizza by giving it Denominazione di Origine Controllata or DOC status.  This established Neapolitan pizza as a national treasure, on a par with Chianti wine, Parma ham, or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

The DOC designation spelled out the ground rules for how the pizza is made.  Only three kinds of pizza are recognized — Pizza Marinara, made with tomato, garlic, oregano, and olive oil; Pizza Margherita, which adds mozzarella and basil; and Pizza Margherita Extra which uses mozzarella di Bufala, made from buffalo milk.

All three are cooked for no more than 90 seconds at 900 degrees Fahrenheit in a wood-burning oven.  The crust should be extremely thin — less than 1/8″ thick, but after cooking, it should fold without breaking.  The diameter of the pizza should be less than 14 inches.  And the tomatoes should be San Marzanos.

One of the benefits of the DOC guidelines is that you no longer have to go to Naples to have true Italian pizza.  Organizations like Verace Pizza Napoletana Americas (VPN) train American pizza makers how to produce authentic Neapolitan pizza.  No stone is left unturned.  Everything from the type of flour to the kneading of the dough is defined.  And pizzerias that comply received VPN certification.

If you want to eat an authentic Neapolitan pizza in America, Seattle is your best bet.  There are more VPN-certified pizzerias there than in any other American city.  Choose from Picolino’s Ristorante, Pizzeria Pulcinella, or several locations of Tutta Bella Neapolitan or Via Tribunale.

Those lucky enough to travel to the source will find pizza on just about every corner in Naples.   Pizzeria La Sorrentino, Trianon, and Pizzeria Caffaso all have legions of fans.  But L’Antica Pizzeria de Michele has held the “best pizza in Naples” title for years.  It serves only Pizza Marinara, Pizza Margherita, and Pizza Ripiena, which is a baked calzone.  Since it was featured in the book “Eat, Pray, Love,” the lines to get in are even longer than usual and you may not find it worth the wait.

Antica Pizzeria di Matteo is another great choice with a bigger menu.  In addition to the traditional pizzas, di Matteo also specializes in fried balls of dough, rice, and potatoes.  Buy some to snack on while you wait for your pizza.

Read about other Italian food specialties here.

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Also known as deep-dish pizza, Chicago pizza originated in the windy city in 1943.  But the actual inventor of the dish is disputed.  The first Chicago pizza was served at Pizzeria Uno and, depending on whom you ask,  it was the brainchild of either Ike Sewall or chef Rudy Malnati.

The pizza was a hit, and Pizzeria Uno opened Pizzeria Due, which was followed by Gino’s Pizza, and then Gino’s East.  Rudy Malnati’s son, Leo, opened a pizzeria in the suburbs in 1971, and Chicago pizza started to spread throughout the country.

Today, you can probably find a pizzeria in your neighborhood that serves them.  And you can even order Chicago pizza online from Lou Malnati’s

To make a Chicago pizza at home, you’ll need a 14″ deep-dish pizza pan or a couple of cake pans.  One of the best parts of a Chicago pizza is the crust, which is both flaky and crispy.  Your pie will turn out the best if you make your own pizza dough.  And having a dough hook really helps.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine two packages of quick rise dry yeast with two cups of warm water.  Once the yeast has dissolved, add:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 TBSPs olive oil

1/2 cup cornmeal

3 cups flours

Beat these ingredients for about ten minutes.  Then add 2-1/2 cups more flour to the dough and beat with a dough hook for another ten or fifteen minutes.  Dust a countertop or cutting board with flour, put the pizza dough on top, and then cover it with a large metal bowl or a damp dish towel.

When the dough has doubled in size, beat it down and let it rise again.  Punch it down once more and divide in half if you‘re using cake pans.

Preheat your over to 475.  Then oil a 14″ deep-dish pizza pan or two cake pans.  Don’t be stingy — this is how the crust gets crispy.  Place the dough in the pan.  Oil your fingers and push the dough into the pan until it’s 1/8 inch thick and goes all the way up the sides.

Unlike a conventional pizza, a Chicago pizza has the cheese at the bottom.  So start assembling your pie by covering the bottom with sliced mozzarella or provolone cheese.  Then add a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes — San Marzanos are best — and a teaspoon each of basil and oregano.  The next ingredient, garlic, is traditionally added crush, but we prefer it minced.  Add to taste, or substitute garlic powder.

You can add any of  your favorite pizza toppings, but the classic Chicago Pizza uses sautéed Italian sausage, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, and green peppers.  Place the other ingredients on top of the tomatoes and then sprinkle with about 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for about 35 minutes.

For a healthier pizza, substitute broccoli for the sausage and pepperoni.  And for more vegetarian pizza toppings read best vegetable pizza toppings.

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