Category archives: Ingredients

how to cook mushrooms for pizza
Advice, Cooking, Ingredients, preparation

How to Cook Mushrooms for Pizza

How to Cook Mushrooms for Pizza. Mushrooms are a very popular ingredient for pizza, both for their taste and for their nutritional value.

However, cooking mushrooms so they're perfectly pizza-ready can take a while’ Practice. Here are some tips for cooking mushrooms for pizza in order to obtain the maximum result.

Fast and just enough

First of all, choosing the right mushrooms is very important. If you want mushrooms to be the star of your pizza, then you should choose porcini mushrooms or button mushrooms.

Both have an intense flavor and are very tasty, which makes them perfect for pizza. If instead you want the mushrooms to be just an accompanying ingredient, then you can also choose other types of mushrooms, like mushrooms shitake or mushrooms oyster.

How to Cook Mushrooms for Pizza

Once you have chosen the mushrooms, it is important to clean them thoroughly. To do this, just use a damp cloth or a soft bristle brush to remove any traces of earth or other residues. It is not necessary to wash the mushrooms under water, as they may absorb it and become soggy.

Once cleaned, mushrooms should be cut into thin slices. If you use the porcini mushrooms i Champignon mushrooms, it is advisable to remove the stem, since it may be a bit’ stand. In addition to, it is important to cut the mushrooms into thin slices so that they cook evenly on the pizza.

Mushrooms in the pan

Once cut, the mushrooms are put in a pan with a little’ of olive oil and a clove of minced garlic. It is important to cook them on medium heat, mixing them often, until they become tender and golden.

At this point, they can be added spices to taste, like thyme or rosemary, to give a little’ of extra flavor to the mushrooms.

Notes on conservation

Once cooked, i funghi they should be left to cool slightly before being added to the pizza. It is important that they are not too hot otherwise they could make the mozzarella melt too quickly.

Once the pizza is ready to be baked, just add the mushrooms on top of the sauce and mozzarella, and then bake as usual.

Greetings

Mushrooms are part of the professional program of our "Professional Pizzaiolo Course" You will find all the information here.

If you have not already done, subscribe to my youtube channel, You will 300 Video recipes of pizza.

 

Ciao

Silvio Cicchi

 

We know the Calabrian Nduja
Advice, Ingredients

We know the Calabrian Nduja

Nduja is a spreadable sausage. Spicy lovers love it the Nduja. Pork sausage combined with Calabrian pepper. The pepper acts as a preservative.

Produced in the Vibo Valentia area. The original recipe called for two kilos of meat and one of chili peppers.

Nduja in the kitchen

Delicious on pizza, spread on bread, seasoning for pasta, fried, risottos, soups.

We know the Calabrian Nduja

During the professional courses that we do in our own School pizzaioli, we use a lot the Nduja. Everyone seems to like spicy. If you would like more information about our workshops, follow this link.

Greetings

Appointment in a few days for more news on pizza.

Ciao

Silvio Cicchi

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Grow Spinach on the Balcony
Advice, Ingredients

Grow Spinach on the Balcony

Grow Spinach on the Balcony. This wondrous plant contains carotenoids, LUTEIN, vitamin C to strengthen our immune system, vegetable iron e folic acid which is useful in stimulating the production of Red blood cells.

Spinaches, vegetables a broad leaf they are very tasty, having no land on which to cultivate them, I cultivate them in pot.

The super vegetable spinach

Get a rectangular pot with natural soil, Sowing goes from March to November. Make holes with your finger a couple of centimeters deep and sow the spinach.

Cover the holes with more soil and water. In a few weeks, fantastic plants will sprout and grow luxuriant day after day.

Grow Spinach on the Balcony

Collect leaves without damaging the central shoot from where the new leaflets will arise. Plants will do very well in cold temperatures, but they need to luce.

Spinach is used a lot in pizzeria, spinach pizza is in great demand. About pizza, I remind you that in ours School pizzaioli we organize professional courses to become real professional pizza chefs. More information about our courses are available here.

Greetings

You can find other recipes with spinach in my recipe collection called: Non Solo Pizza. Available for download at this link.

See you soon

Silvio Cicchi

Follow my You tube channel, It contains 300 Video recipes of pizza.

 

 

What are the best vegetables to eat
Actuality, Advice, Ingredients

What are the best vegetables to eat

What are the best vegetables to eat. It has long been known that vegetables are very good for our health, very rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Someone vegetables they are better than others, let's find out what they are

Garlic: More than confirmed by medicine, garlic reduces the level of triglycerides and sugars in our blood.

Which vegetables do you prefer

Carrots: When we say carrots we immediately think of the high beta-carotene content, they are very rich in vitamins.

Peas: They are very rich in fiber, they contain saponin and are a real cure-all for our digestive system.

What are the best vegetables to eat

Asparagus: It is said that those who eat asparagus every day never get old. They are rich in antioxidants.

Kale: Rich in vitamins A., C, K, kale reduces blood pressure and bad cholesterol.

The super vegetables

Spinach: This vegetable reduces hypertension and therefore is a panacea in preventing cardiovascular disease.

Broccoli: They contain sulforaphane, useful for preventing tumor development. Those who eat it often can reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

Tonight I'm preparing the vegetables

Ginger: There is no better remedy in nature for lowering blood sugar and relieving inflammation.

Beets: Swiss chard is good for our cardiovascular system, excellent for reducing the sugar levels in our blood.

Conclusions

These are just some of the fantastic vegetables that you can prepare for dinner tonight. One last recommendation, follow the seasons.

Vegetables in the pizzeria they are used a lot to season our pizzas. About pizza, if you like, subscribe to one of ours practical courses that we organize weekly in ours school pizza. You will find all the information here.

Subscribe to my canale you tube, you will find available further 300 Video recipes of pizza.

See you soon

Silvio Cicchi

 

Potato Salad First Second Course and Side Dish
Advice, Ingredients, Recipes

Potato Salad First Second Course and Side Dish

Potato Salad First Second Course and Side Dish. Just so dear friends, it's just like the title says. Our potato salad as well as being famous all over the world for its simplicity, it is also highly appreciated for its taste.

Each country has its own version with the addition of different ingredients, it could be described with a simple word, dish "jolly”Since it can be used comfortably as first course, come second dish, or simply like contour.

The Super salad

Today I will limit myself to providing you with one of the most famous recipes ever, the preparation is simple, but with a unique flavor.

After boiled potatoes cut them into slices, wait for them to cool and season with one salsa prepared by blending anchovies, Taggiasca olives, a hard-boiled egg yolk and chives.

Potato Salad First Second Course and Side Dish

It might seem like a simple dish to present, but it is an absolute delight. In pizzeria you often meet, since many pizzerias always have blanched potatoes available ready to be added as topping on pizza.

A vegetarian pizza with the addition of potatoes it becomes a super pizza. Potatoes boiled remaining a few minutes in the oven on the pizza form one crust that becomes crisp.

Potatoes in the Pizzeria

In our School Pizza our students pizzaioli during their training they use potatoes a lot. About pizza: If you are real pizza lovers I suggest you subscribe to one of mine Professional practical courses to become pizza chefs. You will find all the information here.

Other very useful tips on how to use potatoes in a pizzeria can be found on my latest collection of recipes called: Non Solo Pizza which is already available for the download at this link.

Greetings

Did you know that here on my site you can find more 300 video recipes of pizza? Many of them are prepared using potatoes as an ingredient. Sign up to my You Tube channel.

Ciao

Silvio Cicchi

Mushrooms Let's Know Them Better1
Actuality, Ingredients

Let's get to know the mushrooms better

Let's get to know the mushrooms better. I mushrooms these strangers, rich in Phosphorus, potassium and minerals, they are very useful for our immune and cardiovascular systems.

Let's start by saying that they do not belong to the plant family and are certainly not animals, but nutritionally they could be compared to vegetables and should be consumed just as such.

How many types of mushrooms are there

To name a few: porcini, cockerels, mushroom, prataioli, tacks, pioppini perhaps they are the most famous. They are harvested in spring and autumn.

If you are an expert gatherer, I recommend that you take long walks and collect them, otherwise be very careful because there are species poisonous. For the less experienced ... buy them at the supermarket.

Go for mushrooms

In commerce it is easy to find too dried mushrooms. Mushrooms are anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, rich in fiber and vitamins, contain potassium and copper.

Calorie: They vary from species to species, on average 100 grams of mushrooms are equivalent to approx 30 kcal.

How to use them

With our mushrooms you can make many recipes, in pizzeria they are used trifolati and they are an absolute delight for the palate.

Other common recipes are the pappardelle with mushrooms, the famous ones tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms, the mushroom risotto, and some main courses of meat, like the escalopes with mushrooms.

Mushrooms in our school

In our School Pizza Italian we prepare i mushrooms to use as a topping for pizza. If you are interested in ours professional courses to become a pizza maker access all information here.

Follow my youtube channel for tons of mushroom pizza recipes.

 

Ciao

Silvio Cicchi

 

Freeze The Mozzarella
Ingredients

Freeze The Mozzarella

1 comment

Freeze The Mozzarella. The best way to enjoy a good mozzarella is certainly to consume it at room temperature (not cold). But what to do if you have bought more than you should by mistake?

It is possible to freeze it? Better to freeze it than to see it end up in the garbage can. And if you really have to freeze it, here are some practical tips.

Freeze The Mozzarella

As in all things, also on mozzarella there are several schools of thought, freezing it is not difficult at all, less water will be present, the more thawing will bring the mozzarella back to its original organoleptic properties.

A very valid advice will be to freeze the mozzarella not in a single block, but already divided into portions, in this way you will be able to defrost only what is necessary.

What Types of Mozzarella to Freeze

As you have certainly guessed, the problem in freezing mozzarella is the water contained in it. So not all mozzarella will give the same result.

Buffalo mozzarella contains much more water than a mouthful of fiordilatte, not to mention the stracciatella mozzarella which is actually not mozzarella, given its large water content, after defrosting it will lose its texture and flavor.

Mozzarella for pizza

The mozzarella used in pizzerias has a low water content, so it is the one that lends itself best to being frozen.

I really wanted to get to this point, that is to suggest the best method to reuse mozzarella once frozen / thawed, that is to use it to fill a good pizza or succulent baked croutons. You will not notice the difference between fresh and frozen product.

Conclusions

Like all things, buy them a little at a time and always use fresh products. In our school of Italian pizza, we always make these recommendations, you are interested in our practical professional pizza chef courses? Find out more information, Click this link.

Tired of the usual recipes? Get inspired by my latest recipe book, it's called NOT ONLY PIZZA, You find all the information at this link.

Before moving on to greetings I wanted to remind you that for those who do not have the time or resources to come to our school and attend a practical course, a fantastic "Online Pizza Chef Course" is available on our site You will find all the information here.

If you are looking for inspiration on what to do with freshly thawed mozzarella, take a look at my youtube channel, you will find hundreds of video pizza recipes available

 

See you soon

Silvio Cicchi

 

 

The Strength Of Flour Discover The Differences
Dough, Ingredients

The Strength Of Flour Discover The Differences

The Strength Of Flour Discover The Differences. As you may have noticed, flours are not all the same, they differ not only by the name of the manufacturer, nor just by the type which is clearly specified on the front of the bag: Type 0, Type 00, Integral etc..

The most important thing that is often not mentioned is the so-called "Strength of Flours" indicated by the symbol W. This symbol is certainly the most important thing to take into consideration when we are faced with the choice of which one to buy, this symbol represents the quantity of proteins contained in it.

The Strength Of Flour Discover The Differences

In a few simple words, the use and the same processing method that we are going to apply depends on this symbol. We can classify the various categories of flours in: Weak, Average, Strong and very strong. This classification makes us understand the water absorption capacity for each type of flour so that the best gluten mesh for each product is created.

The work of proteins

Glutenin and Gliadin are the two main ones protein contained in our flour. Glutenin helps us to make the elastic dough responsible for the gluten mesh. Gliadin helps us to preserve the gluten mesh during drafting, preventing it from being destroyed.

As usual, I'll give you an example regarding pizza: Using flour with a strength greater than w240, perfect for pizza and bakery we will have a dough with an excellent gluten mesh and the gliadin contained in it will ensure that the gluten mesh resists the strong stresses of the drafting.

The strength of the flour

Unfortunately, the symbol W is not indicated in all types of flour, so we just have to read the protein content on the bag.

Flour 00: it is the most used even if it is the weakest flour on the market. Its strength ranges from W90 to W180. Suitable for biscuits, breadsticks and shortcrust pastry that do not want long leavening.

Flour 0: It has an average strength with 10 the 12% protein. His W goes from 180 to 280. With a water absorption equal to 60% about its weight is suitable for medium leavening doughs, perfect for pizza bread, pasta and various bakery products.

Strong Flours

Flour 1: Come on, come on 180 to 300 and a percentage of protein that reaches up to 14, they absorb a lot of water and is suitable for doughs with long leavening and aging in the fridge that can reach up to 4-5 days. Not recommended for quick doughs at home. Perfect for bread, pizza and focaccia but with long maturations.

Flour 2: It is already noticeable from the darker color that it contains a lot of bran, has a strength W that can even reach 350. It absorbs a lot of water and is suitable for long leavening.

Other flours

Wholemeal flour: It has a very high strength and is suitable for long leavening. Wholemeal flour is difficult to rise so I suggest you mix it with a weaker type flour 0 the 00.

The strength of the flour is the basis of the pizza chef's work. During our professional practical courses to become professional pizza chefs, this topic is addressed on the first day of the course. If you are interested in becoming an excellent pizza chef follow this link.

Conclusions

If, on the other hand, you do not have the time or resources to attend the practical course in person, I remind you that here on our site there is a fantastic "Pizzaiolo Online Course" that you can download on your PC or mobile phone and follow from the comfort of your home during your free time. You'll find it here.

If you haven't already, download my latest book of delicious pizzeria recipes, is called: NOT ONLY PIZZA - What should have all the pizzerias in your menu. You'll find it here.

See you soon

Silvio Cicchi

 

 

How To Eliminate Tomato Acidity
Advice, Ingredients

How to Eliminate Tomato Acidity

How to Eliminate Tomato Acidity. The tomato it is widely used in Italian cuisine and perhaps the most used condiment in the world. As you know, the tomato contains a high level of acidity which, in addition to making some of our dishes become acidic, often leads us to have heartburn. So today we will see how to break down the acidity of tomatoes with these precious tips.

I learned many of these tips while working in a pizzeria, where the tomato is the basis of almost all pizzas here, therefore it cannot be absolutely acidic.

Remove the peel and seeds

Much of the acidity of the tomato is contained in the peel and in the seeds. So to solve the problem it will be sufficient to remove the peel by blanching the tomatoes for ten minutes and after removing the peel cut them in half and remove the seeds., By preparing the tomato sauce you will see that it will not be acidic at all.

Baking soda or sugar

They are certainly the most used ingredients to permanently get rid of tomato acidity. Pay attention to the quantities: Sugar could change the flavor of the tomato, therefore a teaspoon will be enough during cooking. Baking soda should be used with great moderation, as soon as the sauce boils, add half a teaspoon of baking soda, this will eliminate all the acidity of the tomato while leaving the flavor unchanged.

Latte

Personally I do not use this solution which I confess scares me, but I know many of my fellow chefs who add a spoonful of milk to get a good result.

Tips

I have just a couple of tips that are sure to help you. The first is the simplest of all, buy some good tomatoes, you will see that it is not acidic and there will be no need to correct it with sugar, baking soda or milk.

The second tip that always works is to reduce the cooking time of your sauce since the longer the tomato cooks the more acid it becomes..

Conclusions

If you like our tips and tricks, keep following our site. Before moving on to greetings I wanted to remind you that in our Italian pizza school every week we offer professional practical courses to become professional pizza chefs. You'll find all the information here.

For the less fortunate who do not have the time or resources to come to our pizza school, I remember that here on our site there is a fantastic “Online Pizzaiolo Course” available for everyone that you can follow from the comfort of your home. You will find all the information at this link.

I end by reminding you that it is already possible to download my latest recipe book called: NOT ONLY PIZZA, you find all information at this link.

If you still have them 5 free minutes, visit and subscribe to my youtube channel, you'll find hundreds of video recipes for pizza.

 

See you soon

Silvio Cicchi

 

Conservare L'Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva
Advice, Ingredients

Storing Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Storing Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Food storage in the kitchen is very important. When it is well done it is possible to preserve the taste and flavor of our dishes.

Extra virgin olive oil it is very important in the preparation of all dishes in the kitchen, therefore it is very important how it is stored so that it does not lose flavor, taste and aroma.

Storing Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This type of oil is absolutely natural, it is extracted with methods of pressing the olives without any addition of chemicals, it distinguishes itself from other oils for its flavor and aroma.

A good extra virgin olive oil must be fruity, if you bring your nose closer you should perceive olive odors, grass rubbed on the hands, almonds, artichokes, tomatoes, variable depending on the production area.

Store Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Storing Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Other prevailing tastes

Bitter and spicy, these flavors are perceived by tasting it and can vary depending on the phenolic component of the oil, antioxidants. They are the same antioxidants that protect our body from cardiovascular disease.

I recommend, be careful, because if the extra virgin olive oil is not perfectly preserved it would lose all its qualities.

Let's keep it right

Never store it in clear bottles, it is essential to protect it from direct sunlight, always use darkened bottles. Never use plastic bottles, it would reduce its duration.

Stainless steel containers are the best. Store it in a cool and dry place at a temperature of 15 degrees around.

Other precautions

Always plug your oil. The Parfums, aromatic substances are volatile, therefore they would be lost if you leave your container uncapped.

Last but not least is to always check the deadline.

Conclusions

In our school of pizza makers, olive oil is an integral part of our program. We always talk about it during our professional courses to become pizza chefs that we carry out regularly every week of the year. If you are interested in our practical courses, there all information at this link.

For those who do not have the time to come personally to our school to attend a practical course, I remember that here on our site there is a fantastic "Online Pizzaiolo Course" that you can follow from the comfort of your home. You will find all the information here.

You have already downloaded my latest book? It is called NOT ONLY PIZZA. A fantastic recipe book with more than 150 illustrations. You'll find all the information here.

Here you will find over 300 pizza recipes.

If you still have them 5 free minutes, visit my youtube channel.

 

See you soon

Silvio Cicchi