Pizza Margherita by Walter Bisoffi
Walter Bisoffi, the chef of the St. Petersburg restaurant Goose Goose, presented his recipe for the famous «Margherita» pizza, which was first made in Naples at the end of the 19th century. «Margherita» was named after the wife of Italian King Umberto I. According to Bisoffi, rustic cuisine is the foundation of modern Italian cooking. Its dishes embody the love and care that Italian homemakers have been putting into recipes from simple and inexpensive ingredients for many years. According to Bisoffi’s recipe, you can prepare a fluffy pizza even without a rolling pin. The key is to choose good ingredients: pelati tomatoes, semola flour from durum wheat, and dense, moist mozzarella cheese that melts perfectly.
INGREDIENTS
- Semola flour — 100 g
- Wheat flour — 500 g
- Mozzarella cheese for pizza — 100 g
- Parmesan cheese — 70 g
- Olive oil — 100 ml
- Basil — 30 g
- Salt — a pinch
- Water — 300 ml
- Fresh yeast — 10 g
- Pelati tomatoes — 100 g
- Sugar — 10 g
INSTRUCTIONS
- Sift the flour. In a separate container, dissolve the yeast and sugar in water, mix well, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and mix again. Set aside to let the yeast activate.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the flour, add a pinch of sea salt, and blend everything with a blender. Take the dough out and knead it on the table (this will enrich it with oxygen). Then form the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film, and place it in a warm spot for an hour.
- In a separate bowl, place the tomatoes and blend them with an immersion blender. Add basil leaves, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, pepper, salt, and mix thoroughly.
- Finely chop the mozzarella cheese separately.
- When the dough has risen, roll it out thoroughly. Sprinkle a baking sheet or pizza stone with semola. Spread the tomato mixture on the dough, top with mozzarella. Finally, sprinkle with grated Parmesan, garnish with basil leaves, and drizzle with a little olive oil.
- Bake the pizza in the oven for ten minutes at 250 degrees Celsius.
