The Pizza World | Recipes | Chef Sanjeev Kapoor

Home » Season & Festivals » The Pizza World

The Pizza World

Pizza can be found in practically every country of the world. They have, in the last 10-15 years, become one of the mainstays of convenience and fast food eating, with pizza restaurants almost everywhere. From humble beginnings - when it was sold in the streets of Naples - the pizza has risen to become a sophisticated way to eat a wealth of delicious ingredients from simple cheese and tomato, cooked with fresh herbs and olive oil, to exotic shellfish, oriental vegetables and spices. Pizza need not be just a snack or quick cooked meal. They can become stylish cocktail foods, substantial pies and pastries-and even desserts! One thing to remember. The pizza has an elegant history - being eaten by many a king or queen - so should never be considered simply a dumping ground for leftovers! 

In Naples one summer, around the late 1800s, Queen Margherita of Savoy was residing with her family in Capodimonte Park. She had heard a lot about pizza and decided to try it for herself. The local pizza maker was summoned and he served her a pizza with a newly invented topping. From then on, the tomato pulp, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil pizza has been known as Pizza Margherita. Until this time, pizza had been sold in the streets to people at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was cut from a large tray that had been cooked in the baker’s oven and had a simple topping made of mushrooms and anchovies.

As pizza became more popular, stalls were set up where the dough was shaped as customer ordered. Various toppings were invented including tomato, which had arrived from the New World. This soon developed into the opening of the pizzeria, an open air place for folk to congregate, eat, drink and discuss. This has gradually become the pizza parlour we have today, though the flavour of a pizza made, baked and eaten in the open air is unbeatable.

Tips for a good pizza

  • The crust is the life of a pizza as are the toppings. But focus on the crust first. Then the sauce, the cheese and the toppings.
  • Take care to bake at a high temperature: upto 240 degree C is fine.
  • The sauce should use good quality juice tomatoes with flavour. You can add all or some of the following for stronger flavours: oregano, garlic, crushed peppercorns. Balsamic vinegar adds ‘bite’. Olive oil (extra virgin) also adds a good flavour.
  • Be creative with cheese choices. Mix Monterey Jack with goat cheese. Or use whole milk mozzarella. Its smooth, melts beautifully and is rich in texture. Or you could use a mix of cheeses!

Recommended Recipes

Pizza Topped Focaccia - how to make Pizza Topped Focaccia

Pizza Topped Focaccia

This recipe is from FoodFood TV channel & has featured on Sanjeev Kapoor Kitchen.

Innovative pizza using focaccia topped with pizza toppings.


Chocolate Fruit Pizza - How to make Chocolate Fruit Pizza

Chocolate Fruit Pizza

This recipe has featured on the show Khanakhazana.

A divine avatar of the ever so popular pizza – it is sweet and it is yummy.


Pizza Base Roll - How to make Pizza Base Roll

Pizza Base Roll

This recipe has featured on the show Khanakhazana.

Pizza base sliced horionally, spread with spicy salami mixture, rolled and served.


Pesto Pizza - How to make Pesto Pizza

Pesto Pizza

This recipe has featured on the show Khanakhazana.

Brown pizza base with pesto spread and topped with sundried tomatoes, olives and cheese.


View More

Recent Festivals

website of the year 2013
website of the year 2014
website of the year 2016
MasterChef Sanjeev Kapoor

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor is the most celebrated face of Indian cuisine. He is Chef extraordinaire, runs a successful TV Channel FoodFood, hosted Khana Khazana cookery show on television for more than 17 years, author of 150+ best selling cookbooks, restaurateur and winner of several culinary awards. He is living his dream of making Indian cuisine the number one in the world and empowering women through power of cooking to become self sufficient. His recipe portal www.sanjeevkapoor.com is a complete cookery manual with a compendium of more than 10,000 tried & tested recipes, videos, articles, tips & trivia and a wealth of information on the art and craft of cooking in both English and Hindi.