Pizza and Extra virgin olive oil: Icons of Italian history and culture

All the world cannot do without it: Pizza. This thousand-year-old tradition food, with its baggage of techniques and flavors, is today changing…its philosophy. Water, flour, extra virgin olive oil, salt and yeast become extremely refined ingredients. The result is a new concept of the art of pizza making.

The importance of the choice of raw materials is at the base of pizza for Ian Spampatti, master pizza maker and chef of restaurant “La Lanterna”. His pizza is an evolution, where the knowledge of the ingredients and the territory they belong to lead to a gourmet pizza, a real “signature dish”.

“My philosophy – Ian Spampatti says – is based on my experiences. What I propose today is a pizza made by the contribution of all my friends, my producers, a continuous source of cultural and territorial knowledge. Olio Guglielmi and I share the same philosophy. An idea of evolution in which the research for the creation of an undisputed quality product is the core of the kitchen”.

Ian Spampatti, thus, confirms that making dough and then pairings is a real ritual where extra virgin olive oil plays an essential role.

The right amount of extra virgin olive oil – Ian Spampatti explains – contribute to making pizza more crispy, crumbly and tasty. A high quality extra virgin olive oil like Olio Guglielmi one, is obtained from olives harvested in October and immediately pressed through the cold extraction method, helps to improve the leavening phase making dough more easily digestible and indeed tastier. Moreover, the addition of extra virgin olive oil contribute to making dough more elastic and, therefore, more easily workable.

The mixture of ingredients created by Ian Spampatti results in a fusion of flavors in which the Italian regions play a key role.

Once cooked in the oven, pizzas are enhanced by oils obtained from olive varieties native of Puglia, which contribute to exalting the original combinations proposed by Ian. “Le Monocultivar”, is our line dedicated to “Coratina”, “Peranzana” and “Ogliarola” olive varieties which, thanks to their organoleptic characteristics and inimitable scents, give rise to a dish that becomes an icon of Italian history and culture.