My kind of pizza

By Chef Ed Dychauco, RN

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

FOR the past months and even years, I have noticed the increase in the number of pizza shops around the city and even nearby areas. And I should say it is a welcome respite to have such new establishments.

I am a big fan of pizzas and it doesn’t matter whether it is thick crust, thin crust or in between. I just love anything tomatoes, be it fresh, canned, pureed or cooked. I guess a lot of people do like tomato sauce and catsup, too! Be it spaghetti or lasagna, it would surely make our meal more exciting.

Tomato was said to come from Mexico and it wasn’t until the 16th century that it arrived in Europe and became popular with pastas.

Naples, Italy is known for its tomato-based pizzas since the 18th century, but not in the form that we knew today. Through the years, it finally reached the United States because of the Italian Immigrants. And as the saying goes, the rest is history.

As far as I can remember, pizza was quite unheard of before when I was a kid. It was only in the late ‘70s (hope I got it right) that it started to get into our community. It plateaued for a while and finally in the ‘90s, it exploded with a bang!

Being a nurse in New York back in the ‘80s, I would always have pizza as my “brunch” at least once a month. This I owe to Ms. Mae Gallardo-Ynocellas and her parents whom I fondly called Papa and Mama. They would pick me up in the Nurses Residence along Pelham Parkway in the Bronx (within Bronx Municipal Hospital Center) in the morning for our Sunday Mass. After which we would have our Super Supreme Thick Crust Pizza with everything on it, doubled up in one of the major pizzeria in our vicinity! We would definitely top it with more Parmesan Cheese. Imagine the calories! Well, that was back then when we never cared about heart diseases!

I lived in an Italian community and that makes our pizza more authentic! They would bake their pizza in a brick oven. There are times when I would crave for the regular cheese-topped pizza and then there were times when I’d go for a rich calzone (kind of like a wrapped pizza formed into a pocket. A bigger version of our empanada. Baked, not fried and filled with what is topped in a pizza.) And just for $1, that big slice of pizza was already my meal for the day!

While I was stationed in Phoenix, Arizona, I would go to one particular pizzeria which is famous for its pizza using a particular “wood” (which I can’t remember anymore) that gives the finished product a better aroma and flavor. The shop is always jam-packed and sometimes it’ll take an hour just to wait for a vacant table. But it was worth the wait.

Italian Pizza is normally tossed and thrown into the air as they stretch the dough. It is really a sight to behold. It is just amazing to see how they would make a 5” flattened dough stretched to an 18” or even bigger size by tossing and turning them up in the air without tearing. There is even a dough-stretching competition in the United States where the winner gets to win huge prizes!

Now, many big and small shops here in the city sell pizza. National food chains eat up a large chunk of the market. But slowly, smaller and bolder entrepreneurs are giving them a run for their money.

One can find pizza shops (I don’t call them pizzeria anyway) almost anywhere. Some sell their products by slice or whole. It doesn’t quite taste like the real pizza but what the heck. Price is cheaper, too, compared to those found in the malls or shops.

Pizza can be topped with anything -- from olive oil to tomato sauces, vegetables to meat to even fruits -- making it more of a dessert than a savory meal. A complete meal by itself.

Here is a simple recipe for a pizza dough crust which anyone can try at home. Top it with anything you like. One important note: don’t scrimp on the toppings, especially the sauce (one can even use spaghetti sauce instead of the regular tomato sauce), and the cheese! If one can have mozzarella cheese, the better! But melting cheese will also do the trick.

Happy baking and eating!

Pizza Dough

250 gms flour
Pinch of salt
7 gms yeast
1 Tbsp Olive oil
water

Mix flour, salt and yeast. Add the oil and enough water to make a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface until soft but not sticky. Flatten and top with favorite toppings. Baking time depends on the thickness of the dough.

(Website: www.potsnpans1976.weebly.com; email: potsnpans1976@yahoo.com)

Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on January 27, 2011.