The world of gastronomy is traveling fast toward plant-based food in all its expressions. This issue is closely related to the awareness that animal protein must be reduced and dosed carefully, both because on the one hand our nutrition requires it, and on the other hand because of the matter of sustainability. This is certainly a fashionable concept but very difficult to achieve in practice, especially if we think of its different declinations and the implications arising in this case from the intensive livestock farms, from which much of the meat consumed on the planet comes.
Courses dedicated to professionals (but not only) are beginning to spread, involving in-depth knowledge of herbs through activities such as foraging, another way of walking through meadows and forests to collect the fruits of nature. Nowadays, these courses are more necessary than ever because knowledge of biodiversity is essential, just as it is essential to be highly trained on what are the elements that eventually end up on our plates, in order to avoid the not-so-remote possibility of running into inedible or even worse, highly toxic herbs. There is no haute cuisine restaurant these days that does not offer plant-based dishes, as well as entire menus dedicated to vegetarian or vegan consumers, which are highly appreciated by omnivorous customers as well. In fact, if the dearth of vegetable offerings prevailed until a few years ago, with completely ordinary and marginal plates such as simple salads or grilled vegetables, today it can be said that, with the exception of those venues specializing in particular offerings, most restaurants are going in the opposite direction. Needless to say, the trend-aware world of art-house pizza has followed that of haute cuisine with plant-based toppings that are often refined and especially delicious. As is often the case, it can be said that an important forerunner of this trend was Denis Lovatel. With his 2016 project, In-fusioni (12 pizzas with 12 different chefs for 12 months) together with Francesco Brutto, currently chef at Venissa, Lovatel created the Pu’er pizza. It was a white pizza that – mozzarella fiordilatte aside – was all plant-based and featured baked Jerusalem artichokes, black cabbage chips, black cabbage juice, and infusion of Pu’er tea, a Chinese variety that undergoes a post-fermentation treatment. He also made the pizza Rivoluzione Vegetale, which was again awarded – like the Pu’er pizza – a few years later, in 2020, by Gambero Rosso. This pizza was created precisely to replace animal protein with vegetable protein, picturing an alternative that aesthetically represented bresaola, arugula, and Grana cheese shavings. How? By making a watermelon carpaccio treated with a special technique of long cooking at low temperature and a complex dehydration process conceived by Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz. Then the pizza was flavored with mountain spices and barbecued oil and completed with thyme and rosemary in osmosis.
Among the great pizza interpreters there is another innovator, Simone Padoan, who was one of the first to take pizza beyond the universe of Neapolitan approach. A researcher in the field of flours, doughs and leavening with a particular focus on fillings, he knows well how the proper or improper use of delicate vegetable materials such as herbs and flowers can decisively affect the flavor of any preparation, for better and (often) for worse. Speaking of which, in fact, it might happen that, apart from the possibly successful and instagrammable aesthetic result of the pizza, its filling then proves to be unpleasant and inappropriate in terms of taste. This is why knowledge and extensive study are needed. As a matter of fact, adding an ingredient such as an edible flower or wild plant significantly affect the final flavor of the pizza filling.
Bitter, sour, spicy, salty, sweet in the most different nuances: the expressive range that a vegetable element can release is incredibly wide and significantly determines the success and harmony of a dish. Just imagine how much the smell and taste impact can change by adding or removing from a pizza such well-known elements as basil and oregano. And just consider that there are so many varieties among them, each one with a specific aromatic value. For example, we might think of the rough minerality of black cabbage, perhaps dried, to accompany a fatty substance such as sausage. Or the innocent parsley, a decorative element that is, however, far from neutral. What would happen then if we tried to inappropriately add coriander, a spice as olfactively powerful as it is difficult for a Western palate to match? For those who have tasted it, Sechuan button, also known as Toothache Plant, has a very powerful anesthetizing effect that can affect for several minutes whatever bite or drink you are going to have. Like that of so many other edible flowers, its use dramatically changes the overall harmony of a set of ingredients. All of that must always be considered, over and above the final aesthetic appearance.
