You don’t need to be an Italian chef to cook like one. At least that’s what Antonio Cecconi says, and he's a pizza expert.
What makes him an expert? Well, for one thing, he’s a born-and-bred Italian.
Cecconi grew up in Sardinia, an island region of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. He came to Minnesota over 20 years ago to develop pizzas for the Totino’s Company when it was acquired by Pillsbury. After six years, he opened critically acclaimed Minneapolis restaurant Bravo!, began consulting for restaurant companies, and eventually started his own corporate and home catering company, The Italian Gourmet. Cecconi also teaches a variety of cooking classes both at Cooks of Crocus Hill and through private lessons.
One secret to perfect pizza, according to Cecconi, is simplicity. Too many toppings crowd the palate and too much cheese can ruin the crust. “We tend to go overboard,” Cecconi says. Too much cheese or too much sauce will make the dough soggy and too many toppings crowd the palette.
But before you even think about toppings, Cecconi says, “You need to think about a pizza as an art form of preparing bread.” A good crust is the backbone of any good pizza. After all, as Cecconi says, “It’s a disc of bread topped with some ingredients that we like.” And this is where the patience comes in: If the bread is wrong, the whole pizza is wrong.
And above all, Cecconi says, the most important thing to remember is balance: “All the ingredients should come to meet your taste buds in balance without having something overpower everything else.” Even more important than that, he said, "Pizza is fun. That's why kids and everyone in America loves it. Everywhere, in Italy, too. It’s a non-serious food that can give you serious nutritious.”
Homemade Pizza Dough for a -nch Crust
1 package active dry yeast
½ cup warm water (105–115 degrees)
1 ½ cups bread flour
1 tsp. olive oil
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. sugar
Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Stir in half of the flour, the oil, salt and sugar. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until smooth and springy. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover, and let it rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
Gently push your fist into the dough to deflate. Cover, and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but no longer than 48 hours. (If dough should double in size during refrigeration, gently push fist into dough to deflate.)
Homemade Pizza Sauce
2 cans (28 oz. each) Italian-style plum tomatoes
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
Place all ingredients in food processor or blender. Cover, and process until smooth.
Use sauce immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 48 hours. Makes three cups or enough for three pizzas.
Pizza Classica
1/2 cup homemade pizza sauce or purchased sauce
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded provolone cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 chopped imported prosciutto ham
Make homemade pizza dough and homemade pizza sauce.
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cook sausage and onion in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink. Drain excess juices.
Press dough into 12-inch circle on ungreased cookie sheet, pizza screen or perforated pizza pan, using floured fingers. Press dough from center to edge so edge is slightly thicker than center.
Spread 1 cup of pizza sauce over dough to within 1/2 inch of edge. Mix cheeses, and sprinkle over sauce. Spoon the sausage mixture over cheeses. Sprinkle with basil and prosciutto.
Bake 15 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown and cheese is bubbly and totally melted.
@ To learn more about Cecconi, visit his website.
