Anna’s Wood Fired Oven Blog

I remember well the first time I had wood fired pizza.  I was 7 years old and my family had recently moved to the island of Capri and been blessed with an existing pizza oven to cook in.  One of the workers who was helping with the home renovation turned out to be a skilled pizzaiolo and was promptly hired to produce amazing pie after amazing pie.  And to top it off, another worker was part of a small group that loved playing traditional neapolitan music, so our parties had a fabulous sound track as well, filled with O Sole Mio and  Funiculi Funicula‘ to a very romantic guitar and mandolin accompaniment.

The beautiful island of Capri

At the time, I had no idea how lucky I was growing up on the island amidst rugged rock and breathtaking views; the blue, crystal clear sea below covering the ancient remains of an emperor’s villa. The blue water was so inviting that come summertime I would run down the centuries-old stairs carved in the mountain, all the way from the top of Anacapri to the sea below, all 777 mythical steps and a few more miles to the Bagni di Tiberio or the baths of the emperor Tiberius. I would make my way back home by taking a boat and a bus, my skin tan and crusted with salt.

After days like that, no wonder the pizza tasted like food from the gods and that later in life I would try and try to recreate that flavor.  There’s no potable water on Capri, and rain is collected in large cisterns or water is brought in via ship, so this precious resource was used sparingly when growing vegetables, consequently tomatoes used in the pizza sauce were super sweet.  To replicate this pizza tomato sauce from my childhood memories, I grow my own San Marzano and heirloom cherry tomatoes, or alternatively I add sugar to the store bought crushed tomatoes, sometimes adding a little tomato paste as well. Note that pizza sauce you must be cooked longer and slowly to to make a thicker sauce and avoid moisture getting into the pizza dough.  (Try combining a home-made, extra-sweet tomato sauce on a pizza with small dollops of fresh burrata or of really good, soft mozzarella cheese, taking care to add the cheese after you slide the pizza out of the oven, garnish with fresh arugula.)  It makes a for a nice juxtaposition of flavors with the warm, sweet tomato and the cool, textured mozzarella.)

Here are some favorite photos of this dreamy, mediterranean island by photographer Raffaelle Mastroianni.  Perhaps they will make you want to visit soon…

A quiet moment. Photo by Raffaele Mastroianni.

Via Krupp. Photo by Raffaele Mastroianni

Buon appetito!

A great swimming spot at the Faro. Photo by Raffaele Mastroianni.

It is so much fun to harvest in the garden early on a summer morning! Today I got lots of tomatoes and they look beautiful! Decided to combine my favorite comforting flavors: tomato-potato-bread crumbs. Try this in your wood fired oven or in your conventional oven (in this case just add 10-15 minutes to the cooking time).

tomato harvest

Pomodori al forno

6 medium tomatoes, ripe but firm

2 russet potatoes

1 cup of olive oil + 2 tablespoons

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 teaspoons dry oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Cube the potatoes and boil them in salted water. When they are done, mashed the potatoes with a fork. Set aside.

With a sharp knife cut off the top of the tomato. Holding the tomato in the cup of one hand, gently scoop out the pulp, making sure not to tear the tomato. Keep the pulp and juice, you will use it later.

ready for the wood fired oven

Ok, so I am partial to making my own bread crumbs. This may be because I just can’t trow away good bread, so I always keep some handy in the fridge drawer, stored in a paper bag. Baguettes are the best for this sort of thing. Break the hardened bread in pieces and process in a food processor. The crumbs will not be uniform size and some will be a bit larger, which is good.

Place the bread crumbs in a bowl and add about 8 tablespoons of the tomato juice and pulp you set aside. Mix in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the 2 teaspoons of dry oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Then add the mashed potatoes and mix. Scoop this mixture into each tomato.

Place the tomatoes snugly either in two loaf pans or other metal pan. Add the olive oil so that it comes up about 1/2 inch. Baste the tomatoes with some of the olive oil.

Bake in a 300 degrees F oven for 20 minutes. Take out and baste the tomatoes with the olive oil in the pan. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes.

pomodoro al forno!

Mmmmh… so good with some aged goat cheese or pecorino!

Buon appetito.

From the farm to the wood fired oven

In Italy I got accustomed to good, organic produce and it is a vital part of my cooking. We have been getting our produce straight from EarthWorks Community Farm in South El Monte. It is a beautiful location with fertile soil in the middle of the Whittier Narrow recreation area and we love spend some time connecting with the earth and the growing of things on Saturdays. Find out if there’s a farm close to your neighborhood at LocalHarvest.org.

Last week my husband picked fava beans, a large bag, and since these were my first taste of the season they never made it to the table! But I have promised my friends that next week I will hold off eating them all and make my all-time favorite bruschetta with fava beans pesto. You must try this, so easy and bursting with flavor!

We are also getting the beds in our small backyard plot ready for new tomato plants, since the sun is shining in California and welcomes these essential basics of Italian cuisine. So easy to grow, even in containers, and what a different pizza sauce home-grown makes!

Check out the Tomato Mania for all kinds of heirloom plants and seeds. If they are not located near you, then get your seeds from Seeds of Change, an organization that strives to preserve bio-diversity and promotes sustainable, organic agriculture. The old Italian tomato and basil seeds that have been grown in the USA and preserved for generations can be purchased from them. Try it, you won’t regret the flavor!

Heirloom Tomatoes are great for pizza sauce!

Carciofi, or artichokes, have made their springtime debut at the farmer’s markets in Southern California and baking them in your wood fired oven really brings out their full flavor.

Carciofi al forno — Wood fired Oven Baked Artichokes

6 large, globe artichokes

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch of Italian parsley, chopped

1 handful of fresh thyme sprigs, l

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash the artichokes and trim the base so that they will sit flat. Pull off the leaves until you get to the tender inside leaves. Trim the top straight across with a sharp knife. You are going to stuff the artichokes, so you will need to trim off the leaf barbs in the middle as well, until the heart of the artichoke is exposed. Set aside in a bowl of water with some lemon juice added to it, to prevent discoloration.

Chop the herbs, the garlic, and the onion together and mix in a small bowl along with the olive oil, the bread crumbs, and the Parmesan cheese. Add generous amounts of salt and pepper, to taste. Stuff each artichoke with this mixture, pushing it in with a spoon. Wrap each artichoke in foil, closing it on top, and place in metal pan.

Bake in your wood-fired oven at about 500-400 degrees for 20 minutes. Take out the pan, open one of the foils and check. If it needs further baking, place back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so. Otherwise, open the foil carefully, and place the pan back in the oven for the artichokes to brown on top, this should take about 10 minutes.

Buon appetito!