Brigantessa Is Rolling Out New Pizza Shapes

Because round is boring? Joe Cicala is rolling out an “underground” selection of his Neapolitan pizzas that will come in playful shapes at his Brigantessa. These pizza shapes are kind of the Lucky Charms marshmallows of the pizza world. Check out Brigantessa’s video where chef Cicala creates the Stella (star shaped) pizza with points stuffed with sheep’s milk ricotta and the Racchetta rolled on one end and stuffed with ricotta. Both of these odd shaped pizzas appear on the menu. Other shapes are only available by customers who are in the know.

Those shapes include:

• La Conchiglia (The Shell), an herb-dusted crust that is baked without toppings and allowed to rise like a pita, then cut open and served brimming with clams steamed in white wine with garlic, parsley and red pepper flakes
• Il Meravigliao (The Marvel), a half-calzone, half-pizza pie that is stuffed with sheep’s milk ricotta and topped in thirds with buffalo mozzarella and basil, roasted mushrooms and olives
• Calzone, a classic calzone stuffed with sheep’s milk ricotta and sliced salame felino
• Pizza Fritta (Fried Pizza), pizza dough that is folded in half, stuffed with sheep’s milk ricotta and sage, then flash-fried, served with a generous pour of bagna cauda, a creamy anchovy-garlic-parsley sauce
• Il Cannolo, a cannoli-shaped pie that is wrapped around a hearty filling of house-made pork sausage, roasted mushrooms and smoked mozzarella
• Pizza Tranchetto (Log Pizza), a white pizza that is topped with buffalo mozzarella and sheep’s milk ricotta, then rolled into a stuffed baton and baked, served topped with a simple salad of mixed chicory greens and shaved 24-month-old prosciutto, sprinkled generously with grated pecorino
• La Montanara (The Mountaineer), a traditional Neapolitan pie prepared on a crust that is flash-fried, then topped like a traditional margherita and baked off
• Vesuvio, representing the famous volcano that buried Pompeii, a pizza that is topped with a central dome of fior di latte cheese then enclosed beneath a second crust, topped with tomato sauce to evoke lava and served flaming tableside thanks to a generous pour of grappa and a match.

Brigantessa and Cicala take their pizzas seriously, holding their Neapolitan pies to the strictly regulated  Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) rules. But as Cicala notes, the shapes adhere to the regulations and “these exciting shapes are proof that they  [AVPN] also don’t take themselves too seriously and know that pizza is, above all, a fun and delicious finger food.”

We’re most excited to try the two fried pizzas, the Pizza Fritta and La Montanara. But that La Conchiglia is speaking to us as well.

Watch the video below and choose your favorite:

Brigantessa [Foobooz]