Pizza Margherita

File:Napoli, Pizzeria de' Figliole.jpg

The origins of pizza Margherita came from mixing similar toppings that were already present in Naples between 1796 and 1810.{{cite book |first=Angelo |last=Forgione |title=Made in Naples |publisher=Magenes|isbn=978-88-6649-039-5|year=2013 |page=195|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dr0OmwEACAAJ&q=made+in+naples}} In 1849 Emanuele Rocco recorded different pizza toppings including basil, tomatoes, and thin slices of mozzarella; the mozzarella was thinly sliced, and added to the toppings already present.

In 1866, Francesco De Bourcard, writing about the Naples traditions,{{cite book |first=Francesco |last=De Bourcard |year=1866|title=Usi e costumi di Napoli e contorni descritti e dipinti |trans-title=Uses and customs of Naples and outlines described and painted. |publisher=G. Nobile |volume=2|page=124}} described the most commonly used pizza toppings at that time as well as the possible origin of calzone:

{{quote|The most ordinary pizza, called coll'aglio e l'olio ({{literally|with garlic and oil}}), is dressed with oil, and over it is spread, as well as salt, origanum, and garlic cloves shredded minutely (optionally). Others can be covered in grated cheese and dressed with lard, and then they put on a few leaves of basil. Over the former is often added (depending on the region) some small seafish; on the latter some thin slices of mozzarella. Sometimes they use slices of prosciutto, tomato, arselle, etc. Sometimes folding the dough over itself to form what is called calzone.}}

A popular legend holds that the archetypal pizza Margherita was invented in June 1889, when the Royal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned the Neapolitan {{lang|it|pizzaiolo}} Raffaele Esposito to create a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. Of the three different pizzas he created, the queen strongly preferred a pizza swathed in the colors of the Italian flag—red (tomato), white (mozzarella), and green (basil).{{cite book |first=Arturo |last=Iengo |title=Cucina Napoletana: 100 Recipes from Italy's Most Vibrant City |publisher=New Holland Publishers|isbn=978-1-84537-989-6|year=2008|page=126|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aat2zzXHDrMC&q=pizzeria+Brandi&pg=PA126|access-date=2017-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616053516/https://books.google.it/books?id=aat2zzXHDrMC&pg=PA126&dq=pizzeria+Brandi&hl=it&sa=X&ei=N6-EU6bFMKGs0QX3poCIAQ&ved=0CGsQ6AEwCQ|archive-date=2018-06-16|url-status=dead}} Supposedly, this type of pizza was then named after the queen,{{cite web |date=14 March 2011 |title=Pizza Margherita: History and Recipe |url=http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy-featured/recipes/pizza-margherita-history-and-recipe |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207192931/http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy-featured/recipes/pizza-margherita-history-and-recipe |archive-date=7 February 2013 |access-date=23 April 2012 |work=Italy Magazine}} with an official letter of recognition from the queen's "head of service" remaining to this day on display in Esposito's shop, now called the Pizzeria Brandi.{{Cite book |last1=Hales |first1=Dianne |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0767932110 |title=Sök på Google |date=2009-05-12 |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0767932110 |language=sv-US |access-date=2018-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221104617/https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=isbn:0767932110 |archive-date=2022-02-21 |url-status=live}}

File:Traditional pizza from Napoli.jpges (red), mozzarella (white), and basil (green)—are held by popular legend to be inspired by the colors of the national flag of Italy.{{cite book|author=Arturo Iengo|title=Cucina Napoletana: 100 Recipes from Italy's Most Vibrant City|publisher=New Holland Publishers|isbn=978-1-84537-989-6|year=2008|page=126|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aat2zzXHDrMC&q=pizzeria+Brandi&pg=PA126|access-date=2017-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616053516/https://books.google.it/books?id=aat2zzXHDrMC&pg=PA126&dq=pizzeria+Brandi&hl=it&sa=X&ei=N6-EU6bFMKGs0QX3poCIAQ&ved=0CGsQ6AEwCQ|archive-date=2018-06-16|url-status=dead}}]]

Later research cast doubt on this legend, undermining the authenticity of the letter of recognition, pointing that no media of the period reported about supposed visit and that both the story and name Margherita were first promoted in the 1930s–1940s.{{cite web |date=28 December 2012 |title=Was margherita pizza really named after Italy's queen? |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/20515123 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231225517/http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/20515123 |archive-date=31 December 2012 |access-date=31 December 2012 |work=BBC Food}}{{Cite journal |last=Nowak |first=Zachary |date=March 2014 |title=Folklore, Fakelore, History: Invented Tradition and the Origins of the Pizza Margherita |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263340437 |journal=Food, Culture & Society |language=en |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=103–124 |doi=10.2752/175174414X13828682779249 |s2cid=142371201 |issn=1552-8014}}

File:La vera pizza Napolitana (319020748).jpg

File:Margherita - Stone and Embers - Nov 2018 - Stierch 04.jpg

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• Neapolitan cuisine
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• {{cite book|first=Francesco|last=De Bourcard|title=Usi e costumi di Napoli e contorni descritti e dipinti|year=1866|location=Naples}}

{{Tomatoes}}

Margherita