Fried pizza (Pizza fritta)
When I took my students to Italy to see how olive oil was made, we ate these 'fried' pizzas at a great little restaurant called Il Vescovino in Panzano in the Chianti region. The chef fried the thin bases in oil, like poppadoms, then quickly topped them with tomato sauce, mozzarella and a little bit of oregano and popped them straight under a hot grill. They were the lightest pizzas I've ever eaten – just incredible – and this is how the first ever pizzas were made.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 10 of 12 ingredients — the other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 10 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Mozzarella Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 85 |
| Plum | 1 medium (66g) | 30 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Oregano | 1 tsp dried (1.8g) | 5 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Basil | 5 leaves fresh (2.5g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Pizza | not in our table | 0 |
| Buffalo | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 1 basic pizza dough recipe
- flour, for dusting
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 x 150 g buffalo mozzarella balls
- 5 teaspoons dried oregano, optional
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
- 400 g good-quality tinned plum tomatoes
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper