They all have a common base of flour, water and yeast, but they are topped and cooked in different ways.

In Palermo, however, we found a pizzeria, La Bufalaccia (Via Principe di Palagonia 4F. Open only in the evening), where you can enjoy a good Neapolitan pizza, with a tall edge, that is, enhanced by local ingredients.

Flour, San Marzano PDO tomato and mozzarella PDO come from Campania. The pizzaiolo, trained in Naples, creates a blend of flour to which he adds a smaller percentage of Sicilian wheat (Tumminia and Russello).

He uses mother yeast which he freshens up every day and his dough matures and leavens between 24 to 36 hours in controlled atmosphere and then at room temperature. There’s a wood oven and the pizza is baked at 350/400°C.

There are many dishes, what with starters, fried food (panelle and timballi above all) and pizza. There are many different pizzas, classic, fried, “almost Neapolitan tradition”, rich flavour, Sicilian, local, Bufalaccia, tramontina...

The Monrealese is remarkable, as excessive as the cathedral to which it is dedicated, with sheep’s milk ricotta, raw red onion, caciocavallo, breadcrumbs, tomato sauce, anchovies and fresh tomatoes.

The Verdure grigliate, with honey by black Sicilian bees and buffalo milk mozzarella are also worth mentioning; or the Nebrodi with the flavours of those mountains in East Sicily, hence tomatoes, mozzarella fior di latte, smoked provola, roasted sheep’s milk ricotta, pork jowl with black pepper, Sant’Angelo salami and pistachios from Bronte.

Should an objection be really necessary, we’d say the pizzas are even too rich, so you miss the flavour of the dough and, after eating a pizza, the idea of trying the desserts, which indeed are lovely, is a challenge.

Yet it looks like Sicilians like them this way, plenty and rich. (In the picture, pizza Pesto with pistachios, sausage, sheep’s milk ricotta, grana padano shavings and black olives).


Tania Mauri
source: http://newsletter.identitagolose.it/email.php?id=628

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