Most of the time, we use quite a few pizza toppings. But some times, less really is more. And a plain old cheese pizza — done well — can be the most delicious pizza ever.
Like most dishes with only a few ingredients, it’s important that each one of them be top quality. If you can’t buy fresh pizza dough at your neighborhood grocery store, make it yourself. And use San Marzano tomatoes if you can find them.
Pizza Cheese
But for the ultimate cheese pizza, the most critical ingredient is the pizza cheese, or more likely, cheeses. Although mozzarella cheese is the obvious choice, it’s quite mild and without some spicy pepperoni to jack things up, you could end up with a boring pizza.
If you want a mouth-watering pizza that’s bursting with flavor, you’ll need to add some other cheeses. Emmental cheese is a very popular pizza topping in France. A Swiss cheese made from cow’s milk, it has a nutty, buttery flavor. Jarlsberg, which comes from Norway, is similar. Both melt beautifully.
Another Swiss cheese that makes a fabulous pizza is Gruyere. Slightly salty from being brined, Gruyere is aged from a few months to a year. The flavor intensifies with aging. The French cheese, Comte, is quite similar. These cheeses are too rich to use as you would mozzarella. Either combine them with mozzarella, or use less than you ordinarily would.
As you’d expect, Italy also has several great pizza cheeses in addition to mozzarella. Fontina, which hails from the Val d’Aosta region, near the Swiss border, is mellow and slightly sweet. Burrata cheese — basically mozzarella with a center of heavy cream — is subtle, but delicious. Ricotta also adds a smooth, creamy texture. Just be sure it’s well drained before you use it.
No pizza is complete without one of the Italian grating cheeses: parmesan, grana padano, Asiago, or pecorino romano. These add wonderful depth, but be mindful of their saltiness. For the best flavor, grate them right before you use them.
Although the four cheeses in pizza quattro formaggi vary based on the preferences of the pizza maker, there’s usually a bleu or veined cheese, often gorgonzola. Use the gorgonzola sparingly, otherwise it will overwhelm everything else.
Cheese Pizza
If you’re not a fan of bleu cheese, consider substituting goat cheese or feta. These range in flavor from mild to pungent.
Before you put your pizza in the oven, drizzle a little top-quality olive oil over the top. And if you’re so inclined, add a couple of twists of freshly-ground pepper or crushed red peppers flakes.
Once the aroma of melting cheese starts to waft from the oven, it will be difficult to be patient. But let your oven bake until the cheese turns golden brown and bubbly. Pour yourself a nice glass of Italian red — maybe Montepulciano or Chianti — and enjoy the best pizza there is.
Read more tips on pizza cheese or learn how to make your own.
Pizza Cheese Image Flickr: quinn.anya
Cheese Pizza Image Flickr: avlxyz