Do I want a pizza?

[Guest]

Do I want a pizza?

The_Liquidator wrote:

Yes it is ganja, pizza is a full plate meal here more than it is anything else.

G-Man, I let you off for not saying Germans make better pizzas. But I've got my eye on you.

Then the Italians who told me this, several throughout the years, have been talking bollocks.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Do I want a pizza?

I know "we've done this" is a bit on the negative side, and that. But we have so done the rights and wrongs of pizza to death on here time and time again.

[San Bernardhinault]

Do I want a pizza?

There's never a wrong time to have a pizza, so there's surely never a wrong time to have a discussion about what's wrong with pizza.

By the way, the best pizza I've had recently was right by Clapham Junction. Better than any I've had in Germany.

[Disco Child Ballads]

Do I want a pizza?

I'm quite puritanical about toppings as well. I really don't like any form of meat on pizza - I always go for the veggie option.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Do I want a pizza?

The annoying thing about Italian restaurants in the UK (and they are a-plenty) is their apparent lack of agreement on what goes into a particular pasta sauce. You see, I adore my favourite local Italian's penne amatricana, which includes tomatoes, onions, chillis, olives and bacon. But I can go in other places, order the same thing, and it's got no chilli in it, or no olives, and sometimes no bacon either. The chilli one in other places is "arrabiatta", but again it's hit and miss whether this includes any bacon, or sausage (which seems interchangeable with my one's amatricana), or if it's vegetarian. Surely a classic recipe should be uniform everywhere? It's like ordering a Cumberland pie in pub and finding it comes out with no grated cheese and breadcrumbs on top of the mash.

[Er Liquidatore]

Do I want a pizza?

Then the Italians who told me this, several throughout the years, have been talking bollocks.

Yes. Where were they from?

[DCI Harry Batt]

Do I want a pizza?

Italy?

[beak]

Do I want a pizza?

TonTon wrote:

I know "we've done this" is a bit on the negative side, and that. But we have so done the rights and wrongs of pizza to death on here time and time again.

What if I kick it up a notch by pointing out that olives are fucking horrible?

[DCI Harry Batt]

Do I want a pizza?

haha, go for it

They can't be as fucking horrible as those wet, hairy strings of salt people like on pizzas.

[beak]

Do I want a pizza?

TonTon wrote:

haha, go for it

Olives are fucking shit. Anyone who pretends to enjoy eating them is a liar, who thinks they can impress people by claiming to enjoy eating olives.

They can't be as fucking horrible as those wet, hairy strings of salt people like on pizzas.

If you mean them fish-style whatever-they-ares, I'm right with you. Bloody rubbish.

If you mean something else.. well, that's me stumped, but I'd consider having a word with your pizza chap.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Do I want a pizza?

I'd like Liq to nail the pasta sauce recipe one for me if he could. I'm going to Florence for a week in May, and want to know what to ask for over there to make sure I get my favourite.

Also, over there, pasta is usually a starter, yes, before a main dish of steak, veal or chicken? Is it an insult to go into a restaurant and ask for pasta as a main dish, if that happens to be all I fancy? I'm not going to want a 3-course meal every night.

[Er Liquidatore]

Do I want a pizza?

I'm don't know about sauces really, I just bash 'em together with whatever I find.

With regards to restaurants though, it works like this;

Antipasti (nibbly startery thingies)
Primi (almost always a pasta dish - but if a fish restaurant might be clams or osysters)
Secondi (Meat or fish dish)
Dolci (Have a guess)

How you want to eat is up to you. It's perfectly permissible to have a primo as a main course, and they're so used to Brits and Yanks that you'll be fine. Be prepared for he sheer number of tourists though - from what I'be heard it won't feel very authentic.

Secondi will rarely come with trimmings, so scan the contorni bit, which will have veggies or various types for you.

Tuscans do a proper nice bean and sausage soupy thing, so try that. It's ace.

As for ganja's thing about Pizza not being a meal; I can only assume that the Italians he knows are from some crazy northern region with crazy habits or something, as Pizza is very much considered a whole meal down here in civilisation.

[ursus arctos]

Do I want a pizza?

Rogin, your favourite amatriciana is non-traditional.

Both the olives and onion are close to heresy, and the bacon should really be guanciale (pork cheeks). The red pepper is also a rather atypical (though allowable) addition.

On the other hand, the red pepper flakes are an essential part of a proper arrabiata and a proper puttanesca, though the latter should also include anchovies and capers.

That said, every single one of the "classic" Italian pasta sauces is open to significant variation, even in its region of origin.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Do I want a pizza?

Ooh, tomatoes, chilli, anchovies and capers, you say? Now we're talking. I've never even seen that one. "Puttanesca". Cheers, ursus, I'll take that with me.

Actually, "puttanesca". That means something like "whore's stench", doesn't it?

[ursus arctos]

Do I want a pizza?

"Whore's style", allegedly based on the cooking habits of Neapolitan ladies of the evening.

[Bruno]

Do I want a pizza?

Hookeresque.

Puttanesca is real easy to make and one of my favorite sauces.

[Brandenburger Toro]

Do I want a pizza?

There's a great bit in Made where (I think) Jon Favreau, after making it for his girlfriend's young daughter, translates "puttanesca" as "Bad Girl's Pasta"...

[Moonlight Shadow]

Do I want a pizza?

I've had a pizza at my favourite place in Gva saturday, tried the one with beef medallions on it. Very nice it was, with extra capers, I love capers.

I'll probably have another one from my favourite takeaway in Addlington (Lancs) on wednesday, veggie hot. Generous topping, cooked first then he adds the cheese to melt it on top. Unorthodox but it works well. Excellent sauce as well, rich and tasty.

[Er Liquidatore]

Do I want a pizza?

Just had a pizza for dinner. That's right, a proper meal. Prawns and rocket, mmmmm.

[Guest]

Do I want a pizza?

The_Liquidator wrote:

Then the Italians who told me this, several throughout the years, have been talking bollocks.

Yes. Where were they from?

One from Torino, one from Bari, one from Syracuse, one from somewhere on Cagliari, the other I don't remember/don't know.

[Er Liquidatore]

Do I want a pizza?

Spangles sez - 'I call bollocks on that.'

Either they're lying, my local takeaway pizza place is inventing customers to trick me or there's some weirdness going on here.

Here's my reasoning for them saying what they're saying:

Turin is practically France
Bari is practically the Balkans
Cagliari is practically Planet of the Apes

How's that for taking on local prejudices?