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Pizza Taglio's Sicilian Pizza

March 03, 2016 by Dan Tallarico in Pizza Video

 

Tony at Pizza Taglio is constantly testing out new things in his pizza kitchen. Some days he'll bring out a plate of cheeses from exotic locales, other days he's working on perfecting a calzone filled with ricotta and nutella. 

I was lucky enough to be hanging out in Tony's kitchen the night he made Sicilian pizza. The dough rose for two days and was cooked in a pan, giving it a crispy exterior and a soft interior. With a smile on his face he told me how bewildered pizza eaters are to find that the cheese goes underneath the sauce in a Sicilian pie. 

Pizza Taglio Sicilian Pizza

"Little do they know it's to prevent the cheese from burning." Genius. And look - it bubbles up to the top naturally.

You can watch a video of the pizza being made up above. It's a tiered process—as the pizza cooks you add more items on top of it. In total it took about 20 minutes to cook a single pie.

I couldn't keep my mits off it. It was crunchy and soft. The sauce was made a few hours before. The sauce contained a single anchovy. I don't know if it made a difference, perhaps because the total package was so delicious. I didn't have time to think about the effects a single fish could have on an amazing pizza. Thinking about it now...is it possible a single fish could impact the flavor of the pizza? Hmm...

Pizza Taglio Sicilian Crust

I hope this becomes a staple of Pizza Taglio's menu. It's the perfect pizza to share with pals. As you work your way towards the center you find yourself in the midst of a pizza mess. Sauce and cheese gloop every which way. It's then that you drop your guard and simply enjoy the pizza. No need to worry about a mess or looking good for whomever. A deliciously sloppy pizza will warm your spirit and instill pizza confidence into your soul. 

March 03, 2016 /Dan Tallarico
pizza taglio, sicilian pizza, sicilian, east liberty, pittsburgh
Pizza Video
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This is the only known photo of my New Years Sfincione pizza. I don’t know what threw me off my documentation game but I failed to snap a single picture of the sicilian pizza cooking in the iron skillet, or of any of the many assembled ingredi…

This is the only known photo of my New Years Sfincione pizza. I don’t know what threw me off my documentation game but I failed to snap a single picture of the sicilian pizza cooking in the iron skillet, or of any of the many assembled ingredients. 

Will I ever be able to recreate the fluffy creature? Or will this be my white pizza whale that I ruin my life chasing? 

In short, this pizza was one of the most stunning dishes I’ve created. It was both crunchy and fluffy, flavorful, but not too filling. It was a pizza paradox that for a brief moment existed in my kitchen before being devoured by my guest. Maybe Stephen King will be inspired by this story and write a novel detailing a pizza journalist who goes back in time to properly document this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. I’m banking on those royalties. 

January 02, 2012 by Dan Tallarico
January 02, 2012 /Dan Tallarico
pizza, sicilian, new years eve, stephen king
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Sicilian Pizza. I don’t get it and it’s not something I’ve explored too much of. Mostly because in the many places I’ve worked the Sicilian pizza crusts take the form of some pre-made, frozen crust that is delivered off a tru…

Sicilian Pizza. I don’t get it and it’s not something I’ve explored too much of. Mostly because in the many places I’ve worked the Sicilian pizza crusts take the form of some pre-made, frozen crust that is delivered off a truck. I would always get sad for the customers who called to enthusiastically order a Sicilian pizza, claiming it was the best in the city. It wasn’t the best in the city because it was the same frozen crust everyone in the city was using. 

I thought it was a novelty menu item put in place to make customers feel exotic and worldly. That is, until James Foreman ordered the Sicilian pizza at Mineo’s, the very pizza that is pictured above. I told him what I’ve told hundred of people: It’s made from a frozen crust. He stubbornly insisted that Mineo’s would never succumb to the ease and shortcomings of having a stranger (probably a robot stranger) create their crust. Part of me wanted to believe him, but I’ve been so wronged by Sicilian crusts in the past! So, James, being friends with a pizza journalist, did some pizza journalism and discovered that Mineo’s Sicilian crust is indeed made from scratch!

What excitement! It’s actually delicious, in fact, I think I might like it better than their regular pizza. The crust definitely absorbs more of the flavor and you’re not left with a lake of grease to  clean up. I’ll definitely be experimenting with Sicilian pizza in the future, but I give this slice FOUR Sicilians out of FIVE. 

November 06, 2011 by Dan Tallarico
November 06, 2011 /Dan Tallarico
pizza, mineo's, sicilian
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