Cedroni: hurray for gourmet pizza

When asking Moreno Cedroni, the gran chef at La Madonnina del Pescatore, Il Clandestino and more, why he’s passionate about pizza, his first answer is first of all a historic excursus: «I’ve been presenting pizzas, in fact pizzette, for a long, long time in my restaurants. If I’m not mistaken, I began in 2002». It was the now classic and iconic Pizzetta with mackerel, burrata and cherry tomatoes, created for Squisito! in San Patrignano, when the chef from Le Marche participated with Davide Scabin e Vincenzo Cammerucci. «We presented the study and making of pizzas as a training method». It resulted in that delicious recipe which immediately became part of the menu at La Madonnina. And when Il Clandestino opened, it was moved there, where it still is, for the joy of food lovers.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Cedroni and one of the Italian dishes par excellence went on, «I remember the Pizzetta with four cheeses with smoked amberjack and lemon zest. Or – though it was just a game – the Bufalina di spada, a game because the fake dough was in fact a slice of swordfish, topped with buffalo milk mozzarella and cherry tomatoes». A trompe-l'œil pizza, in other words.

Yet why are chefs so fascinated by pizza (think of what Ugo Alciati said here)? «Firstly, because it’s an essential part of our cuisine. Years ago, I remember well, I would complain about the trend of the time, the massification of topping ingredients. It was the “same tin” logic. There was a lack of high quality materials. Yet you should use excellent products even when making a Capricciosa».

Luckily this is no longer the case: the world of pizza is experiencing these days such a growth in terms of quality that chefs pay more attention now, «we can go wild and season pizza with all the delicious products that are part of our heritage. How many recipes are possible? Infinite, I mean it».

Cedroni speaks about seasoning because he doesn’t feel he’s experienced enough with the leavening to take personal care of the dough. «It’s an issue I don’t face, I’ve become passionate about toppings». So he loves to work in a duet with a pizza chef, «indeed this is a fantastic combination: a chef and a respectable pizza chef, high quality flour, proper leavening, delicious toppings. The result is an exceptional pizza».

Like the one pulled out of the oven the other day at I Tigli in San Bonifacio, with the participation, on top of Cedroni, of patron Simone Padoan and Teo Musso, with his Baladin beers. Three important people who collaborated to create a unique tasting event: dough with barley malt, topping with tuna belly and beer vinaigrette, «that’s as gourmet as it gets with pizza!». With a trivia fact: «I cooked the tuna belly as with pizza, turning it with the oven shovel. Simone cooked the dough as if it were fish, on the barbecue».

PIZZETTA WITH MACKEREL, BURRATA AND CHERRY TOMATOES Moreno Cedroni’s pizzetta is now a classic (it’s from 2002!), and continues to be part of the menu at Il Clandestino.

250 g 00 flour
125 g water
2.5 g salt
5 g di brewer’s yeast
500 g mackerel
100 g salt
20 g sugar
1 g white pepper
100 g extra virgin olive oil
5 g balsamic vinegar
1 burrata weighing around 250 g
30 g cream

Method
Knead 250 g of 00 flour with 125 g of water, 2.5 g of salt and 5 g of brewer’s yeast. After the first rising, which will last around half an hour, roll out the dough so it is only a few millimetres thick, then cut it with a 10 cm pastry cutter. Leave it to rise for 20 more minutes, punch it with a fork and bake at 180°C for 8 minutes: it’s important that the edge starts to turn golden. Clean 500 g of mackerel into filets, carefully removing the bones. Mix 100 g of salt with 20 g of sugar and 1 g of white pepper. Cover the filets with this mixture for 2 hours; wash the filets, remove the elastic film stuck to the skin of the mackerel and slice them. Put the filets in a marinade with 100 g of extra virgin olive oil and 5 g of balsamic vinegar for 15 minutes. Then drain and keep in the oil. Take a piece of burrata cheese weighing around 250 g, cut it into small pieces and add 30 g of cream to make it creamier. Place the mackerel slices, a tablespoon of burrata and the cherry tomatoes previously seasoned with extra virgin olive oil and a few drops of balsamic vinegar on the fragrant pizza.