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We are indebted to Stefano Manfredi’s
Italian heritage. Born in the little
town of Gottolengo in northern Italy,
he migrated to Australia in 1961 and
opened The Restaurant (later renamed
The Restaurant Manfredi) 21 years
later. He turned out a combination
of authentic and inauthentic Italian-
inspired cuisine, dishes that led to
Manfredi’s restaurants being credited
for introducing Australians to
ristorante staples such as gnocchi with
burnt butter and sage, polenta and
panna cotta.
Though he’s never been too
preoccupied with tradition (though
Italian-style generosity and f lavours
are his culinary DNA), his latest
venture is both an homage to tradition
and a nod to the future – of pizza.
After researching (and, we assume,
eating) pizza in Italy for a number of
years, Manfredi noticed that change
was afoot. Much like the trend
towards wholefoods and away from
less processed products that we’re
experiencing in Australia, pizzaioli (or
pizza chefs) in Italy are also looking for
higher quality, healthier ingredients.
Through this research, Manfredi
wrote New Pizza – which can basically
function as a guide to cooking and
eating the best and most wholesome
pizza you’ll ever have.
We spoke to Manfredi about
why new pizza is healthy pizza, and
making your own dough.Can you tell us a little bit about
yourself and your passion for food?
I was born into a family of cooks on
my mother’s side. I’m from a small
country town in the northern region
of Lombardy. My family came to
Australia when I was six years old and
from as early as I can remember my
mother would always prepare food
at home as she did back in Italy. Her
repertoire was wide and varied, as was
our diet, and included the usual pasta
and polenta, gnocchi, osso buco, and
all sorts of vegetables and leaves. To
this she would also prepare snails,
horsemeat, duck and all manner of
offal like tongue, kidneys, liver, brainsand the like. We grew up loving
everything that was cooked with love
and skill.You are largely regarded as the
‘godfather of Italian food’ in Australia.
Can you tell us a little bit about how
Italian cuisine has evolved in Australia,
in your experience?
When we arrived in Australia in 1961,
Australians generally had a narrow
diet. At least in the western suburbs of
Sydney in the homes of my Australian
school friends. There was a lot of
mutton and beef, and poorly cooked
(mostly boiled) vegetables and gravy
made from a packet. But when those
same school friends came to my house
they would eat things that, although
foreign, had so much f lavour and
vitality that it was as if their palates
had been woken from a dull slumber.
I’m sure this scene was played out
in many Italian, Greek, Maltese,
Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai and Indian
households throughout Australia over
the years, making this country one of
the most varied and interesting of any.
Italian cuisine has achieved such
a wide-ranging popularity that it has
crossed over into various markets.
Take a walk through your nearest
supermarket and you’re at once
reminded how dramatically the
Australian palate has changed over the
last 30 years.
Just look at all the dressings using
balsamic vinegar, pesto and dried
tomatoes on supermarket shelves
as well as pre-prepared ready-to-go
sauces, ravioli, lasagne and pizza,
not to mention the growing number
of Italian cheeses and vegetables
available. And when it comes to our
capital cities, there are now more
Italian restaurants listed than any
other single cuisine.Your new book, New Pizza, is about
bringing pizza back to its non-fast
food origins: to a healthy simple meal.
Can you tell us how traditional Italian
pizza is different to fast food pizza?
Most of the pizza we know uses 00
f lour and relatively short fermentationand maturation times. Nothing wrong
with this but cuisine moves forward
and backward constantly.
I’ve been researching pizza in Italy
for many years now and I’ve noticed
a growing movement towards a huge
change in the way it is made at every
step of the process. It has been led by
chef-pizzaioli whose curiosity and eye
to quality has led their research back
to the fundamental building blocks
of pizza making, from the growing
of the grain and the milling process
to temperatures, fermentation and
maturation times for the dough.Where has this change in pizza making
led us?
Much like the recent movement
away from industrial white bread
toward artisan loaves with natural
leavening and specialist f lours, it’s a
look back as well as taking forward
steps. I believe the new wave pizza is
a movement back to pizza’s origins,
before industrial f lour milling, while at
the same time using modern advances
in stone milling, machinery and
oven technologies.Traditionally pizza isn’t regarded as a
healthy food. What do you think makes
your style of pizza/traditional pizza a
healthy food?
Pizza can be a healthy food in the
same way that a sandwich or a bowl
of pasta can be healthy. It all depends
on the quality of the ingredients and
the quantity consumed. Typically, new
pizza uses stonemilled, wholewheat
f lours. These can be normal soft
wheat, spelt, farro and even rye,
rendering the base super tasty and easy
on your digestive system.If you decided to make a healthy pizza,
what would you make?
One of my favourites from my book
is the Roman pizza with cuttlefish,
broccoli and chilli, made on a base
from wholewheat, spelt, wholemeal
and rye.Do you recommend always making
your own dough?