The perfect pizza ... it's a touchy subject; nations have been divided over what constitutes the perfect slice. New Yorker's favor thin, hand stretched bases, whereas those in Chicago like their deep-pan pies laden with toppings. Pizzas even differ considerably between regions in Italy, however one fact is not disputable, pizza, as we know it today originated from Naples. Neapolitan pizza making is an art form, so much so that it has its own association to decide whether the pizza is worthy of the Neapolitan stamp, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana.
Previously, the best pizza I had consumed outside of Italy was found in a family owned pizzeria in the backstreets of Greenwich, New York. Franco Manca swiftly changed this, providing me with possibly the closest experience to pizza perfection I’ve had so far.
Franco Manca specializes in Neapolitan pizza baked in a tufae; a traditional wood burning brick oven. However what really distinguishes the pizza at Franco Manca is the base, made from slow rising sourdough, left to prove for a minimum of 20 hours, giving the dough a unique texture and flavour.
There are five locations spread across south London with the newest addition to the Franco Manca family located just off of Balham high-street, which is where I had the pleasure of spending my Friday lunchtime.
The restaurant is stylish, minimalistic and to the point; very much like the pizza. Every detail has been carefully considered, from the decor to the simplistic menu; everything has its place.
As for the pizzas, there are only six with toppings such as olive, caper and anchovy. They are basic, but refined, the way a pizza should be. Every element on the menu has been selected with great care, ham from rare breed Glouscester Old Spot pigs, tomatos, only picked in the summer months in Salerno and organic, non-sulphite wines. When the core ingredients are of such a high quality, pizza needs no embellishments.
Onto the meal itself, there were two specials that day, one meat and one vegetable. We ordered one of each with a couple of beers, brewed in the Cotswold’s, to wash it all down. The meat special was topped with organic mozzarella, Gloucester Old Spot pancetta, Colston Basett Stilton and butternut squash. As expected the pizza was perfectly balanced, no one topping overpowered the others and the superb quality of the ham really shone through. The vegetable pizza was equally delicious, organic mozzarella, baked potato, cherry tomato, onion, sundried tomato and a wild garlic pesto. For me, the star of the show was the wild garlic pesto, which was outstanding.
The sourdough crust deserves recognition on its own; it is baked for a mere 40 seconds in a scorchingly hot wood fired oven, the result is a soft, elastic crust with delicious, just-charred blisters adorning the outside. There is the distinct twang of sourness, typical of this type of dough, however don’t be off put, combined with the sweetness of the tomatoes and saltiness of the mozzarella the flavours blend together to give you an unforgettable pizza.
The pizza may not be to everybody’s palette, those who like their pizza topped with lashings of barbeque sauce and delights such as donner meat and tandoori chicken may want to steer clear. However those who do favor the traditional art of Neapolitan pizza making should definitely stop by, I highly recommend they do so.
You can find their website here: http://www.francomanca.co.uk
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