27-08-2015
The wall at the entrance of the pavilion of the Republic of Korea at Expo. Every tag answers this question: «What is your favourite food?». Pizza wins, says Matteo Aloe, the author of this piece and a leading figure in the nouvelle vague of Italian pizza with Berberè
A question is being asked on the entrance wall to the pavilion of the Republic of Korea at Expo: «What is your favourite food?». You can answer by simply writing a tag on the wall. I took a photo of the word pizza, but zooming a little and reading closer the words in pen, in this small square the word pizza appears at least five times (you can play and try to find more). The world loves pizza. I wonder: is there another dish that is so globally delicious? And I also wonder: what pizzas do they eat around the world? From the frozen one in Norway to the thick American one, to the Roman, Neapolitan ones, the rolled ones and the ones in the baking tin. The list is endless.
Lots has been done in the past five years about pizza, in Italy and abroad (just think that at Bæst in Copenhagen mozzarella is homemade). If this trend continues, we will probably give once again attention and pride to a product that needs to be made with few yet super good ingredients, used with the right technique so as to give people what they deserve.
From left, Gino Sorbillo (Sorbillo, Lievito Madre...), Gennaro Salvo (Pizza a Portafoglio, Naples), Matteo Aloe (Berberè in Castelmaggiore, Bologna and Florence)
I had a beautiful trip to Naples, recently, where what with tomatoes, flour, oil and mozzarella what truly wins is the history of each place. You can also eat pizza fine-dining-style, at Simone Padoan’s in San Bonifacio (Verona): who would have ever thought it would be possible to have a pizza based tasting menu that included pigeons, red prawns and scallops with yuzu?
Berberè is the synthesis of various concepts: it is no chance it was born in Bologna, the city uniting the North and South of Italy. Pizza is made with obsessive attention, from the dough to the topping, it is sliced so it can be shared. The menu includes classic pairings (recommended if you want to eat pizza by yourself) and a little more creative ones to trigger your tasting desire: the tasting menu makes it easier to dare, without the risk of exchanging a slice of pizza with the other guest (you always exchange a slice, in every situation) and think «Damn it, I like this one more» for the duration of the meal.
You can taste Matteo Aloe’s pizzas also at Expo, at "Pizza and Cereals", inside the organic pavilion (in the photo, the one with courgettes, sweet and sour onion from Tropea, potatoes and fiordilatte cheese, in the menu in July)
Reviews, recommendations and trends from Italy, signed by all the authors of Identità Golose
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