It's always good, comfortable and everyone likes it. Pizza for dinner: a large, timeless classic that often also passes through the freezer. Defrosted and away. Well no! With a few, little tricks this popular and fast dinner can also become gourmand.

Number one: choose well frozen pizza to buy. It does not have to be rich in condiments – the "topping", ie the ingredients that enrich the base – we can always add them. It must however be rich in quality. That is good the base: organic flour and not necessarily white wheat – try alternatives now available on the market, for example spelled or wholemeal pasta.

Second: not necessarily the pizza must be heated in the oven, especially if this is ventilated or if you have a valid alternative. If you use a normal oven, heat it well before putting it – as you would do for the pizza to be cooked, raising the temperature at most but without grill. The alternatives are above all the barbecue: those with lids become similar to pizza ovens, with that nice smoky snack as if it were freshly baked from a wood-burning oven. And then also the stove, always covering the pizza that has been placed in a pan.

Third: we add them extra ingredients (Buy then a simple and cheap Margherita or, even better, a Marinara). You are spoiled for choice: your refrigerator, your pantry and your imagination have wider possibilities and more in line with your tastes than any pre-packaged commercial proposal. And the quality of the individual ingredients will also be under your control. And it's also a great method for take out leftovers, starting from the famous "piccichini" of cheese, to the half portion of vegetables, to the pesto fondue with two slices of salami cross (true or vegan).

We also pay attention to the "When" add our ingredients. There are ingredients that are best to put before putting the pizza in the oven, for example all that has to merge (or even what is good – speaking of leftovers – that receives another heat stroke before being consumed). There are others that make more put cold, at the last before serving it, for example fresh herbs such as basil or dried as freshly rubbed oregano, salads naturally but also salted anchovies and so on. And then, taking advantage of the fact that the pizza is not cooking, but only by recovering (and therefore we can open the oven without risking inhibiting leavening), there are ingredients that we can add halfway, so they are not cold from the fridge but do not cook – for example pesto or ham (if you want to put the latter from the beginning, however, remember to put the cheese on it, so do not dry.

Finally, two basic tricks before and after defrosting the crust. Before putting the pizza to heat, wet your hands with water and pass them on the crust. As soon as the pizza is ready and steaming, sprinkle it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, which will then be healthy and raw but will absorb the same perfectly to the freshly picked pasta. And maybe a few drops here and there even on the condiment, fresh and dried herbs for the final touch.

Carra Traverso Saibante
November 2017
updated October 2018

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