Top This: Salmone Pizza (à la Spacca Napoli)

[Photographs: Jessica Leibowitz]

Bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon? Been there, brunched that. Not exactly a groundbreaking dish.

But what if a reputable Neapolitan pizzeria makes a pizza with similar ingredients? I was curious to investigate after getting the tip-off from Slice Queen Meredith via our man in Chicago, Daniel Zemans. Pizza + salmon = hmm or mmm? Thankfully, Spacca Napoli was recently named home to one of Chicago's most reputable pizzas, so I remained optimistic.

Proprietor Jonathan Goldsmith's secret ingredient: panna cucina in lieu of tomato sauce. It's made in-house by simply blending mascarpone and heavy cream. Add a few healthy dollops of fior di latte mozzarella, and finally it makes sense. Post-cooking, Goldsmith tops the pie with smoked salmon and bright green arugula. The end result: a picture-perfect pie that's more than merely edible.

Salmon pizza defies typical mealtime conventions in the best possible way; it's kosher to make for both brunch and dinner. Now how's that for groundbreaking?

What You'll Need (for one pizza):

• One dough portion
• 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup fresh fior di latte mozzarella
• Smoked salmon
• Handful of washed arugula
• Extra virgin olive oil

Check out the slideshow for the step-by-step process »

Spacca Napoli

1769 W Sunnyside Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60640 (map); 773-878-2420 spaccanapolipizzeria.com

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