La Pizza Fritta
aka L'Oro di Napoli
I’ll never forget the first time my son ate a fried pizza. It was one evening after we visited the Galleria Borbonica in downtown Naples. We came out and we were very hungry. I suggested the we go Antica Friggitoria La Masardona just around they corner. “They make a great fried pizza,” I said.
His eyes lit up when it arrived.
In front of us arrived this light puffy ball of goodness with a Neapolitan street food history dating back to just after the WW II.
In Naples, pizza is historically made using wood burning ovens. During the period just after WW II, the city was suffering economically. Not only was wood expensive, but so were toppings like tomatoes and mozzarella needed for the famous pizza margherita. So the idea of frying pizza dough in hot oil took off.
Here’s a scene from the film L’Oro di Napoli (1954) with Neapolitan actress Sofia Loren.
These early fried pizzas were basically quite simple, topped often with just salt. It was also very common to buy these fried pizzas on credit. Get one today and pay in 8 days.
Maybe the most common fried pizza is called the montanara. This is fried dough topped with tomato sauce, grated cheese and basil.
Other stuffed versions include my favorite- stuffed with ricotta and provola cheese, tomato sauce and cicoli (discarded pieces of pork fat from prime cuts).
This pizzas can be shaped like a ball as shown in the photos above, or a smaller version shaped like a half moon known as the battilocchio.
Here is a popular way to eat Neapolitan fried pizza.
Or if you’re actually on the street…
Obviously there is no wrong way to eat a fried pizza-honestly I just use a knife and fork.
Fried pizzas can be found all over Naples. A few of the places that I like are, in no particular order…
Antica Friggitoria La Masardona
Antica Pizza Fritta da Zia Esterina Sorbillo
What about you? Have you tried a pizza fritta? The next time you’re in Naples-you should!
If this you liked this post and it made you hungry, please share with a friend who you’d love to take to Naples for a pizza fritta.