DI NATALE

In 2017, my friend and coauthor Katie Parla took me and my friends Nick and Cameron on an epic pizza tour of Campania. Of course we ate our weight in pizza, but we made many other stops along the way, including a place Katie loves in Sant’Anastasia called ’E Curti. At this historic trattoria near Naples, they serve a dish called sicchie d’a munnezza, which means “trash can,” referring to the fact that it is made with cooking scraps that a Neapolitan family would have left over after preparing a Christmas (Natale) meal: tomato sauce, olives, pine nuts, raisins, garlic, and chilis. Neapolitans quickly cook these ingredients together, then toss with spaghetti. We instantly fell in love with this combination and introduced it as a pizza topping as soon as we returned. At the restaurant we serve the Di Natale with fresh basil leaves added after the bake. You can do so as well, in season. Use the best raisins that you can find. You can use a range of olives like Nicoise, Taggiasca, or any small black olive except for low quality or canned.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Stretch the dough as outlined in the Techniques chapter. Transfer to a floured peel.

Step 2

Spoon the tomato sauce evenly over the pizza dough to the edge of the raised border. Distribute the mozzarella, olives, pine nuts, and raisins evenly. Shave over the garlic with a truffle shaver or sharp knife to 1 to 2 millimeters thick. Drizzle with olive oil.

Step 3

Bake as directed here.

Step 4

Serve immediately, garnished with basil, if using, and drizzled with chili oil.