We could call him the "pizza maker of surprises". Antonio Pappalardo, chef-patron of the Cascina dei Sapori in Rezzato, betrays the origins of Castellamare di Stabia from the surname, but the pronunciation is far from that of Campania. Born in 1988, he arrived very young in Brescia, initially in Salò and then following his parents at just 19 years of age, he opened a restaurant that in a few years – dedicating himself only to pizza – not only won critical criticism (see the two segments of the Gambero Rosso), but has found favor with an audience that is not easy, well accustomed: just think that in half an hour by car there is the Branch in Erbusco where there is the brigade of the master Franco Pepe. Pappalardo, however, has certainly not decided to close in the province: in December, he will open a restaurant in Brescia in via Gramsci 22, with 55 seats and many interesting ideas starting from the French bistro style environment. "To conquer an exceptional city that doesn't know it is," says Pappalardo.

Pizzas of all types

Cascina dei Sapori is a fun, bright place divided into three rooms. With a well-articulated offer, supplemented by the delicacies prepared by the mother Giusi Pappalardo and by the desserts. A small card for Roman-style slices; one for the fifteen pizzas on the plate (thin in the center and well pronounced cornice, cooked over high heat), composed of wholemeal and semi-wholemeal flours or 80% monococcal and semi-wholemeal spelled or with barley 'mixture; a third for tasting pizzas (compared to the previous one, undergo a further leavening of 4 hours and are cooked over low heat) with wholemeal and semi-wholemeal or semi-wholemeal flour. There is no shortage also on topping, where fine ingredients such as the Iberian paleta and red prawn make their appearance, alongside the classic, flawless ones. The idea of ​​making people appreciate thediversity of the doughs in a 30 euro tasting which rises to 50 with the pairing of wine, instead of the beers which also have a very interesting menu, based on artisans.

The first was Camanini

Pappalardo has a peculiarity: he manages to involve the great chefs in the conception of "limited edition". During the lockdown, he first found collaboration with Riccardo Camanini – chef-patron of Lido 84 and talent of the moment – who added mozzarella fiordilatte, asparagus from the Palli woods, Bagòss and Ras el Hanout, a mixture of spices, plants and Moroccan herbs to his monocoque spelled dough. «I chose to use these ingredients – Riccardo Camanini says – since the presence of summer Bagòss holds up the intense flavor of this type of asparagus very well. Instead the Ras el Hanout spice dazzled me for its history and its taste, with strong aromatic notes and a particular citric freshness . The second "limited edition" was international with the intervention of Gaggan Anand, the Indian chef who won fourth place in the latest The World's 50 Best with the restaurant that bears his name in Bangkok, as well as being the best of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants from 2015 to 2018, four times in a row and obtaining the recognition of the two Michelin stars.

Indirect dough

"I went to his restaurant in Bangkok six years ago and I have always admired his idea of ​​cooking, but unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to meet him in person – explains Pappalardo – so I wrote to him and over the years he always answered me, until during the lockdown he gave me his availability for this initiative. Gaggan loves pizza, has made himself very proactive, giving inputs for raw materials and how to make the most of them. My job was to make his vision feasible and create a perfect balance for a round pizza between the topping and the indirect dough that I prepared with biga, whole wheat flour and type1 ".

Anand style emoticons

The card was presented in perfect Anand style, inserting the emoticons of the ingredients instead of the names of the ingredients, as the Indian chef does in his menu: fiordilatte mozzarella, yellow peach, fresh anchovies, pine nuts, rosemary, chilli pepper, sweet Gorgonzola, potatoes. "In addition to being something I really cared about as a professional, because we are talking about one of the most influential and revolutionary figures in world cuisine, I also wanted to give a gift to my loyal clientele, who supported us in the lockdown and returned to the club as soon as we reopened – he continues – it seemed nice to let my customers travel a little far at least with the imagination, since it will not be possible to do it again in the coming months . Here is the recipe, for those who want to try to imitate Pappalardo within the walls of the house.

Method

Put extra virgin olive oil and two sprigs of rosemary in a bottle for at least one night. Cut the potatoes into squares of about 1 cm, soak them in cold water for at least 4 hours, dry and fry them in peanut oil. Aside prepare a salad with a brunoise of yellow peaches, pine nuts previously toasted at 180 degrees for six minutes and delicate anchovies marinated overnight in white wine vinegar and then drained from the vinegar and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parsley and chilli pepper .

Roll out the pizza dough and fill it with 80 grams of Agerola fiordilatte mozzarella cut into julienne strips and bake at maximum power in the home oven. Remove from the oven and stuff with the crispy potatoes, the peaches, anchovies and pine nuts salad, fresh chilli pepper, the rosemary infused oil and the sweet Gorgonzola which must be heated in a separate saucepan until it is creamy and poured directly to the table in order to maintain its creaminess, which would be lost if it were baked in the oven.