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Old World and New World Pizzas

Thin yeast breads such as pizza baked in wood burning ovens have existed throughout the Mediterranean region since ancient times. Well into the 19th century, the most basic Italian pizza, however, was flavored with olive oil, salt, oregano, and garlic. Other toppings might have included cheese, anchovies, and basil.

Tomato made its debut as a pizza topping in 1889 when Raffaele Esposito,a famous baker, made a special pizza topped with tomato, mozzarella cheese, and basil for Queen Margherita (the pizza still retains her name today). Incidentally, the color of the toppings correspond to the colors of the Italian flag--red, white, and green.

Pre-Columbian Pizza (or Pizza Circa 1492)

Makes two 12-inch pizzas.

Ingredients

2 12-inch pizza shells (packaged, frozen or homemade from yeast bread recipe)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp. dried oregano or 2 tablespoons fresh
1/4 cup olive oil
black pepper (freshly ground is best)

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl, gently toss together the mozzarella, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Spread the mixture onto the pizza shells, leaving a 3/4 inch border. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake until crust is golden brown. Prepared pizza crusts will take 10-15 minutes, freshly made pizza dough about 20 minutes.

To make an Exchange Pizza, add one or more of the following New World ingredients:

sliced fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce
pineapple
green or red sweet peppers
corn kernels
zucchini
turkey sausage

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