Vegging Out
Veggie Pizza Isn’t Just For Vegetarians Anymore
Back in the old days, the benchmark for veggie pizza was the infamous pepper, onion, mushroom and olive combo veggie supreme. It was a fixture on most pizzeria menus and it still is. The POM&O (pepper, onion, mushroom and olive combo) pizza has earned its ubiquitous status.

Star Status
    As with many of today’s most popular pizza toppings, the winds of change are blowing in some hot new concepts. Inventive vegetable-based pizzas are rapidly gaining popularity.
    American consumers are pleasantly obsessed with all things culinary, from barbecue to bordelaise. They eat out several times a week, they read cookbooks like novels and watch the Food Channel like ESPN fanatics. In short, the consumer has become more sophisticated and demanding in seeking out the best quality, flavor, and innovation.
    Traditional vegetarian pizza, with its piles of raw vegetables, clearly got no respect when competing with its meat-topped competition. To most operators, the veggie pizza was something to appease those whacky vegetarians. But as the demand for better veggie-based pizzas arose and the consumer became much more exacting, operators began to experiment with more veggie toppings.
    The new generation of vegetable-based pizzas appeals to a wide audience, not just to vegetarians. With plenty of new buzzwords to enhance their allure, discerning consumers now clamor to eat their vegetables — as long as they aren’t boring or over-cooked. The consumer has gotten hip to a whole new repertoire of vegetable cookery and new catch phrases for popular ingredients and techniques. Vegetables now have pedigrees.
    An onion is no longer merely an onion; it is a Walla Walla, or a Vidalia, or a Torpedo, or it is red, silver or yellow. Banana peppers, Roma tomatoes, Portabella mushrooms and Japanese eggplant are but a few of the designer vegetables widely available.
    In the past, we had to make due with baked, boiled and steamed. Now, vegetables are grilled, roasted, caramelized, stir-fried or sautéed, and they sound appetizing.

Making the Cut
    Even the way vegetables are cut sounds sexy: paper-thin, shaved, slivered, confetti and ribbons. Many of these classic culinary terms, once used only in trendy restaurants, are now part of the universal chit-chat.
    The right cut for the right application makes all the difference in the world. Haphazardly cut vegetables are a thing of the past. Thick strips of raw vegetables do not work well on top of pizza because they release too much moisture and cause the pie to be soggy. As a result, most pizza makers are using thinner cut vegetables.
    A rule of thumb to keep in mind: Thinner cuts give off the least amount of water and cook fast on top of the pie. Most commercial produce companies can precut vegetables as thin as a 1/4 inch. To cut vegetables thinner still, use the electric slicer to get cuts of about 1/8 of an inch (for paper-thin cuts). Shaving almost sheer slices can be achieved with some slicers, however the best tools are hand-held Japanese slicer/graters and, in some cases, for harder vegetables and cheese, the new micro-plane graters and shavers work well.
    When it comes to roasting, grilling and caramelizing, thicker cuts are better. Vegetables can be cut up to a half or 3/4 of an inch when they are to be cooked. Thin cuts will dry and shrivel during the cooking process, while thicker cuts will gain a richer flavor and tender texture. In some cases, like grilling, small thin pieces are next to impossible to grill properly without their falling through into the coals.
    Chunkier vegetables also work best when roasted or caramelized because the vegetables do not get mushy before developing the right flavors and color.                                  NCB

This article is excerpted from an article that appeared in PMQ’s Pizza Magazine and is reprinted with permission. For more on pizza trends, visit www.pmq.com.