If I am telling you, I just made pizza with melon on top, I am pretty sure the opinions out there will be as much divided as they usually are when it comes to Pizza Hawaii. Are you familiar with Pizza Hawaii? Exactly, the one that’s topped with ham and pineapple. But bear with me and you might just come to like it.
This light summer pizza is perfect if you love the contrasting taste of savoury and sweet.
What is Pizza Bianca or White Pizza
Literally translating into ‘white pizza’ a pizza bianca is made without the traditional tomato sauce.
In Italy, pizza bianca is part of a wider range of traditional foods called bianco or bianca something. Like riso in bianco (white rice) and pasta in bianco (white pasta).
If you order something bianco/bianca, that typically means, you order a light version of a traditional food. Like eliminating the tomato sauce on your pizza (or pasta) but also eliminating many or almost all other toppings and ingredients.
For example, ordering pasta in bianco you will typically get plain pasta topped with only a little bit of olive oil or a knob of butter. Same goes for riso in bianco. It will be a plate of plain rice with a little bit of butter on top.
The idea behind the trend of mangiare in bianco (eating white) as it’s referred to in Italy is to eat healthier by avoiding foods that are difficult to digest or contain a lot of fats or sugar, and ultimately when trying to lose weight.
Traditionally, a white pizza is simply made with pizza dough, olive oil and white cheese. Sometimes it might be sprinkled with a bit of rosemary.
Over time, however, many of these in bianco dishes have evolved and taken a life of their own. Which basically means, those dishes still avoid heavy ingredients, but they are not necessarily still reduced to the bore. Instead, they will incorporate toppings and ingredients with are still lighter compared to the classic ones.
That’s way if you look around for pizza bianca, you will find a lot of different recipes including different toppings. Most of them will be vegetables but you will also see pizza bianca topped with sausage or a light ham.
Like with the classic pizza, what you put on top is limited only by your own imagination.
Try this version of savoury and sweet. It’s an absolute hit at my house on hot summer evenings, especially when served with a chilled fizzy Lambrusco.
What wine to pair with white pizza
White pizza, which is much lighter and less acidic than one with tomato sauce will in general pair very well with a crisp white. Think of Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, that will also go well with a lot of white pizza toppings.
Of course, bubbles will always work as well. So you could potentially look at a nice Prosecco.
For the white pizza topped with mascarpone cheese, aubergine, bresaola and sweet melon, a fizzy Lambrusco would be a perfect pairing.
This sparkling red wine from Italy is hugely versatile and works with a large range of food. And it is a particularly perfect match for pizza, regardless of a classic one (with tomato sauce) or white pizza, and whatever other toppings you chose.
If you want to learn more about Lambrusco, read my recent post Introducing Lambrusco, the sparkling red wine from Italy.
Recipe: White melon pizza
Serves 4
500 g all-purpose flour
7 g dry yeast
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 aubergines
250 g mascarpone
4 sage leaves
200 g mozzarella (grated or thinly sliced)
200 g Galia melon
200 g Cantaloupe melon
150 g Burrata
100 g bresaola (air-dried salted beef)
a few basil leaves
Method
In a bowl, mix the flour with a pinch of salt then add the dry yest, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 250 ml of lukewarm water in small quantities (you might not need all the water). Knead together until obtaining a smooth dough.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and put in a warm place for one hour until doubled in size.
Cut the aubergines in slices, sprinkle with salt and set aside for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the sage leaves in small pieces. In a bowl, mix mascarpone with sage and season with salt and pepper.
In a saucepan, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil. Fry the aubergines until they are soft and start to turn brownish.
Pre-heat oven to 230°C.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each one into a thin cycle.
Transfer to a parchment lined baking tin. Top with the mascarpone, mozzarella and aubergine and bake two of the pizza each time for around 15 minutes.
Take out of the oven and top with melon slices, burrata and few basil leaves.
Let me know if you liked the white melon pizza in the comments below.
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