Pizza Fritta - traditional Neapolitan deep-fried pizza

fx

Thu, 3 Mar 2016 12:34:03 GMT

Ah well you should not do too much calorie accounting while running that might get your head spinning! I tend to serve deep-fried calorie bombs in small portions with huge helpings of soup and salad to keep myself eating more of the caloricious bit!

FLAVIO MESSAGGIERO

Tue, 6 Oct 2015 21:00:23 GMT

BRAVVO NAPOLI, EXCELENTE TU ARTICULO

lili

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 14:50:56 GMT

hi,
i tasted it when i was in Napoli, it was unbelievable!
i hope to find a restaurant here in London but i cant find any!!!
thank you for the nice photos, it is like we were there with you, travelling to Italia!
i am now trying to do it at home, hopefully!
Lili

NASiciliana

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:21:35 GMT

I"m not sure what the obsession with "calories" is about, but it betrays a lack of appreciation for real food culture. Italians have been making and eating street foods since there were streets, in Italy. It"s prepared quickly from real ingredients just like you can see in this whole article (and you must have learned that from the proprietor). The difference between this and the "fast foods" we know of as junk is that here, the oil is probably an animal fat, the ingredients used are real grains for the flour, real yeast (likely from a starter that"s maintained, cause that"s the least expensive way and yet the best way), and real vegetables and sausage that someone close by or in the business itself made or even grew themselves. Whatever the caloric count, I"d bet my last breath that it still comes under the count for a Big Mac, which is basically all produced in a lab somewhere and re-assembled by the underpaid all over the world, out of the supposedly "healthy" ingredients we"ve been told to substitute for the real stuff. You can have foods that have a ton of energy value in them and still eat extremely healthy food, even if frying is involved, as all people who still maintain their food traditions know. Beware the vast amount of misinformation we"ve been force fed about nutrition, from a Medical "science" that involves little or no science, and displays even less respect for food traditions that have not only allowed a people to survive for millennia, but to thrive and flourish, and not just bodily.

ben

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:46:44 GMT

Fantasised about eating this whilst running the Naples Marathon, it was delicious - and probably more calories than I burned!

Bill Van Riper

Mon, 5 Sep 2011 09:13:34 GMT

The nice Italian mothers of my classmates at the parochial school I attended in the early to mid 60"s would make pizza fritte two or three times a year for charity (instead of a more traditional bake sale.) We kids would have one or two with tomato sauce and then follow it with one for dessert with powdered sugar. They were small enough that three of them were not too much to eat.

Sharon

Sun, 7 Aug 2011 22:30:27 GMT

We were stationed at San Vito Dei Normani Air Station in the 70"s, loved to stop in San Vito on the way to Carovigno at night, to pick up a Fritelli - fresh deep fried pizza on our order, we always got ham, cheese, artichokes, olives. I still remember the smell and taste and have had nothing like it since. It was a little street vendor shop. If anyone"s seen a recipe, would love to know

MikeBR

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:43:48 GMT

This looks like a copy of the world famous Scottish deep fried pizza that has been made in Glasgow since the 1960"s Avalable in all Italian pizza/fish & chips shops in Scotland

Pam

Thu, 6 Jan 2011 20:41:27 GMT

I lived in Brindisi in the late 60"s, early 70"s. I remember something called Frittelis that I think are close to this Pizza Fritta recipe. They were so delicious. I have been trying for a while to find a recipe for these. Can you send me the exact recipe, if possible. Thanks.

fx

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:19:00 GMT

Sounds like sound business! How about the cost of the oil though?

JP

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:01:31 GMT

Pizza fritt" has been a staple of our family as long as I can remember. Everyone else calls it "fried dough" and piles on the sugar, we had it with sauce and cheese. I became something of a hero at our college coffee shop when i showed my not-at-all-italian boss how I could make eight $2 servings from the same pound of dough that made a $5 pizza...

Joan

Fri, 8 May 2009 04:56:02 GMT

It seems the higher the calories, and the higher the oil content, the tastier the food is. There is even deep-fried sushi in New Zealand, and in the Philippines, deep-fried hard-boiled duck eggs - I suspect for left-overs that were not sold in their original state.

fx

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:02:58 GMT

Thanks for your input about the pizza fritta Howard!

fx

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:06:25 GMT

Well you need proper tomatoes that have seen real earth and a lot of sun. In my parts these usually come inside cans. Then use onion, garlic, fresh oregano and olive oil. Cook for a long while to destroy the tartness and don"t add any sugar. Good luck!

Carrie Chastain-Little

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:49:22 GMT

I love that you have this recipe!! I lived in Naples for 3 years and these are a favorite. I just have one question - how do you make the tomato coulis? I have tried making just a plain tomato one at home and it never tastes the same. I love it so much that I rarely eat American pizzas now because there sauce is so bad. Help!!

fx

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:31:26 GMT

Yes these are really a slow food specialty, nothing like the Scottish variety!

fx

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:48:25 GMT

Yes, they make many sorts, some shops called Frigittoria specialize in deep-fried delicacies of every type.

Axel

Sat, 7 Feb 2009 12:28:48 GMT

Hi, thanks for the pictures and recipes. I love napoli and i love pizza fritta.
I have mostly encountered a different version there, stuffed with only ricotta cheese and bacon.(i personally prefer ricotta over mozzarella) I always buy these on the market near the traqin station.

Howard

Sun, 1 Feb 2009 14:51:57 GMT

A variation of this that I came up with is to make a ragu of italian sausage, mushrooms, tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt pepper water and cook for 1/2 hour until thickened. Cool and mix with chopped fresh mozzerella. Make pizza dough and stuff small balls of dough (2 - 3 inch) with mixture. Roll until round and sealed. Do not flatten. Put in 2 inches of hot oil (370F) and cook for 5 minutes on each side. Eat hot or cold with a dipping marinara sauce. This is similar to "arancini di riso", but made with dough instead of rice.

Holly

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 15:17:27 GMT

Love this! I found it when Googling for a fried pizza I had as a child in OH. They were called them "ponzos" and basically were fried small calzones instead being baked. They were made at a donut shop and sold in the evenings only. Oh, they were great!

As for them being like the Scottish ones, HOW?? From all I"ve seen, the Scottish ones are just cheap pizzas cut up, dipped (sometimes) in batter, and refried. This is like a fried pie or a ... well ... fried calzone. A filled donut. No use of already cooked items like a twice-baked potato. Nothing alike! Is there another kind in Scotland??

For those who think this is so evil and a way to make people fatter, get real. If you don"t want to eat it, don"t. Or eat a salad earlier in the day. How is this any worse than an empanada, a samosa, a fried ravioli, etc.??

fx

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:21:31 GMT

Jacqueline, deep-fried pizza must indeed be very popular with little kids, a fond childhood memory no doubt!

Jacqueline Sharp

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:38:48 GMT

I"m Italian too. Guess what" I had this type of "pizza" when I was a kid!!
Anyway, when I was in Italy I ran into various kinds of fried pizza by various names in different parts of Italy. Hey, it was all great!!! No need to argue abhout who invented it first, just enjoy!

fx

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:16:40 GMT

Thanks Claudia, glad you liked it!

Claudia

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:44:35 GMT

The calzones made in my favorite restaurant (Cafe Pesto, Hilo) are not at all dry and served, cut in half so not terribly hot inside, and with a variety of wonderful fillings. I"d like to try these deep fried pizzas though. You do an excellent job with your blog. Keep up the good work!

fx

Fri, 5 Dec 2008 12:22:05 GMT

Geoff calzones are discs of dough folded in half, usually baked like pizzas. I find them horribly dry with an impossibly hot interior, but it"s a fun variation to order from time to time, I guess!

Geoff Ball

Fri, 5 Dec 2008 04:15:45 GMT

mmmm.... looks wonderful.

In Novarra up in Piedmonte, I can remember getting Calzones that aren"t too different to the deep fried Pizza above. They were just smaller.

Worlds apart from what North America we calls Calzones.

fx

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:04:59 GMT

Frank I normally shoot with a Nikon D300 and a Nikon D80, but for this article I had to use a compact Canon DigitalIxus/PowerShot. The problem is that in downtown Naples you really will have your camera snatched from you when walking the streets, so I used shoelaces to tie my little compact around my neck and placed it below my shirt just above my ample pizza cemetery. If you want to buy a camera try to get an SLR (where you can remove the lens) and poke out the included flash.

Frank Mancuso

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:51:12 GMT

Hi,
I just discovered your website and have enjoyed looking at the various articles.
I would appreciate knowing what type of camera you use to get such great photographs.

Thanks,

Frank Mancuso

fx

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:28:30 GMT

Indeed it looks very much like one of the many stuffed deep-fried Indian breads!

Shiladitya

Sun, 9 Nov 2008 22:58:54 GMT

Yummy ! From the outside this looks exactly like a bhatoora ,
a fillingless Indian deep fried flatbread (like a poori but made with leavened yogurt-based dough and larger in size) traditionally served with spicy chana (curried chickpeas). Being especially popular in Delhi, chances are that you have already encountered it on one of your trips to India.
If not, its never too late!
Regards ,
Shiladitya

fx

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 00:14:20 GMT

Judy I will try to write an article some day about the deep-fried calzones, yet another version of this. Baked calzones are very different, the crust is crispy in that case.

Judy

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 20:10:01 GMT

Thank you for the fried pizza article which, I believe, answers a misapprehension that I have had for decades. Our family lived in Rome in 1970 and saw such fried pizzas but folded in half and never advertised with a name. When we returned to the U.S. and began to see baked calzones we assumed they were the same things we had seen in Rome but Americanized by being baked instead of fried. Now I know better and the mystery of decades is solved.

martin

Sat, 31 May 2008 05:52:28 GMT

Reminds me of traditional Hungarian langos...

Alka-Seltzer

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:11:25 GMT

Extra dish!
The pizza fritta can be done also with a single layer of dough and nothing else, just salted after the frying.

Ernest

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:39:28 GMT

No, not like a cigar, just thin pizza dough about 5 inches in diameter and deep fried for about 40 seconds then covered with tomatoe sauce and fresh parmesan and served immediately

pierrot

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:29:03 GMT

DOWN TO PRACTICALS: Could anyone please provide me with a recipe for this? Many thanks in advance, Pierrot

fx

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 04:32:33 GMT

Ernest, I ought to try these Calabrese pizzete! Is the dough rolled like a cigar?

Ernest

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 06:09:57 GMT

In Calabria they call it pizetta just deep fried thinly rolled pizza dough which then is covered with warm tomto sauce and grated parmesan....great food

fx

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:00:29 GMT

Michael, good luck if you try to make the pizza, I think the hard part is the dough. Make sure you use enough oil so that you can fully immerse it when deep-frying. "Deep" is the operative word here!

Michael

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:38:45 GMT

Although the fryer in the one photo made me cringe a little, I"m still helpless to noticing my mouth watering at the sight of this lovely looking pizza. I hope that I get to try this sometime soon, perhaps if I feel very adventurous I could bring out my own fryer and give this an attempt!

fx

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 15:44:01 GMT

Jess, thanks for contributing this family memory and I hope you get to eat this once!

Jess

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 16:43:20 GMT

My mom"s grandmother, so Neapolitan that she never learned English, used to feed my mom and her brother this for breakfast when they were kids.

fx

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:33:16 GMT

Christine, thanks for visiting! I"m glad to hear my little article took you for a ride on Memory Lane!

Christine

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:02:34 GMT

When I was younger and living in NJ we used to go to the local pizza place and get something similar to this. Just looking at the pictures, brought me right back to my earlier stomping grounds. Thanks for the post I am going to be craving this for days!

fx

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:00:02 GMT

Martinos, indeed calzone is baked, but in some places outside Italy they mix up the Italian and some readers might have seen a very similar dish with the wrong name. As I understand it, the deep-fried pizza sold under the name "panzeroto" is a disc of dough *folded* in half before frying, whereas neapolitan pizza fritta is made from *two* discs of dough pressed flat against each other. But pizza is a field of strong opinions and I"ll gladly leave you to yours!

Martinos

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:16:44 GMT

Shut up! All of you! It is a Panzeroto, as I tried in Toronto many years ago (and have not forgotten) It is excellent. I now live in London and still keep talking about it. A Calzone is Baked, Dumbass! Scottish deep fried pizza is just a cheap pizza dipped in hot oil - how is that the same thing?

Kevin

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:06:08 GMT

It"s a double-sized Panzerotti/Calzone that we can get around Toronto if you go to the right pizza places. Most chain stores don"t but Panzerotto Pizza offers their baked or deep fried. Damn tasty, but you don"t live long if you make a habit of it.

fx

Mon, 4 Feb 2008 14:29:39 GMT

Rprebel, it is never too late. Perhaps Texan deep-fried pulled-pork pizza? How about deep-fried burritos?

rprebel

Mon, 4 Feb 2008 05:43:46 GMT

I love it! I can"t believe this hasn"t caught on in the South (I"m in TX). Actually, I"m surprised we didn"t think of it first...us, or Scotland.

Tara

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 23:09:34 GMT

Interesting article but does no one else notice the Confederate battle flag in the Domi Shoes sign in the second picture?