Pizza: Italy’s Classic Street Food

DW (English)

Pizza is often eaten with knife and fork, but it was conceived as a street food. A favorite is the pizza Margherita. We traveled to its hometown of Naples in southern Italy to find out why.

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 (speaking in foreign language)

00:03 It's a me, the Pizza Margherita,

00:05 the boss of Neapolitan street foods.

00:08 I was born and raised here in Naples,

00:10 and I rose to fame here.

00:11 What makes me so special, you ask?

00:13 Well, I'll tell you.

00:14 (speaking in foreign language)

00:20 - I'm a big fan of Margherita.

00:21 It's like the best pizza I've had.

00:23 - My dream to eat here, real Napolese pizza.

00:26 - It's the birthplace of pizza,

00:28 so that's why we're here.

00:30 - People will travel thousands of kilometers

00:32 to Southern Italy just for me,

00:34 and I personally owe my very existence to this man.

00:37 - Hi, hello.

00:38 My name's Pasquale Pecoraro.

00:40 I was born on this street in Naples.

00:42 I'm 32 years old and a pizza baker.

00:44 - It was his skilled hands that made me what I am.

00:49 - This move is hard to do.

00:52 It takes a lot of practice and dexterity

00:55 because it's so easy to tear the dough.

00:58 Here we have San Marzano tomatoes,

01:00 Parmesan, basil, and buffalo mozzarella from Campania.

01:04 - I like to wear red, green, and white vest,

01:09 the colors of the Italian flag,

01:11 but something's missing here.

01:12 Pasquale has a little tip.

01:14 - Top it off with a drizzle of olive oil

01:17 on the areas where there are no tomatoes.

01:19 - A thick, fluffy edge, a thin crust of yeast dough.

01:26 That's the way we need it.

01:28 But when is the right time to have me?

01:29 - In the evening with friends.

01:34 Yeah, in the evening.

01:35 - Pizza in the morning for breakfast is fantastic.

01:38 - Cold, warm, no matter.

01:42 Saturday evening's pizza for breakfast on Sunday morning.

01:45 - There's no one time of day for pizza.

01:49 Pizza's good any time.

01:50 - Grazie, grazie.

01:52 I'm turning red in the face, but I'm not alone.

01:55 May I present my family?

01:56 Pizza a portafoglio, a folded pizza.

01:59 Easy to eat even with one hand.

02:01 Then comes my very rich aunt, pizza fritta.

02:07 In this case, she's a margherita too,

02:09 except fried in oil so everything melts.

02:12 Yummy, very typical for Naples, and a favorite.

02:15 And who else?

02:19 Of course, pizza marinara.

02:21 Simple, with tomato sauce and spices.

02:24 Other relatives like things fancier,

02:26 like this one with garlic, meatballs,

02:28 ham, mushrooms, olives.

02:30 You can top me with whatever you like,

02:32 but some of my own people see things differently.

02:34 There are limits.

02:36 - Many say pineapple and no fried potatoes for me.

02:43 Pineapple and honey has no business on it.

02:48 - Well, everything's okay.

02:50 - No pineapple.

02:52 - Anything can go on it, even pineapple.

02:54 - Oh well, pineapple.

02:57 As a genuine Neapolitan, I'll go through hellfire for you.

03:00 - The classic pizza in Naples takes 60 to 90 seconds

03:05 to bake at temperatures between 440 and 470 degrees Celsius.

03:09 Then the edge can rise a bit,

03:14 and on the inside we get the right consistency.

03:16 - Hellacious, isn't it?

03:19 Over 400 degrees.

03:21 No wonder Pasquale's shop is called Purgatorio.

03:24 Like in our great poet Dante's epic, Purgatory.

03:27 He named his eatery after the scary church across the way.

03:30 On the subject of names, this is my story.

03:35 Once upon a time, there was a pizza baker from Naples,

03:38 and in 1889, he created me in honor of Queen Margherita,

03:42 and she loved me above all others.

03:44 That's the legend.

03:45 Later, Italian immigrants took me along all over the world,

03:51 and especially to America,

03:52 where everybody was just crazy about me.

03:54 But originally, I came from a poor background,

03:58 from the streets.

03:59 Even stuff like cow stomach and tongue are sold in Naples.

04:02 Not to tourists usually, unless you're brave enough,

04:05 like her.

04:06 Wow, but a gelato to cleanse the palate

04:12 is always a good idea, and goes fine with me.

04:14 But enough about the others.

04:17 This is about me.

04:18 UNESCO's even named me as Intangible Cultural Heritage,

04:22 and well, I should be, right?

04:23 It's delicious and tender, and tender and delicious.

04:31 When you eat pizza with your hands,

04:34 you don't eat anything else.

04:36 (speaking in foreign language)

04:37 Well, I don't know.

04:38 The simple ingredients.

04:39 It's a work of art.

04:42 The aroma, the taste, something special.

04:46 The simplicity.

04:47 It's affordable, and you can just eat it with your hands.

04:51 What a compliment.

04:52 Although sometimes my relationships end tragically.

04:55 Oh well, nevermind.

04:56 Tomorrow's another day, isn't it, Pesquale?

04:58 My whole life, my whole life,

05:02 for me it's a passion, work and passion.

05:04 So it's not even real work.

05:06 Ciao, ragazzi, a dopo.

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