As if it weren’t enough to have Enzo Algarme’s addictive Neapolitan pizzas hot out of the wood-fired oven at Pupatella, now you can enjoy those pies at home whenever you feel like it. In December, the pizzaiolo introduced a line of four frozen pizzas: Classica (tomato sauce, mozzarella, tomato sauce, basil); Mimosa (Italian cream, corn, ham, mozzarella); beef pepperoni; and mushroom with brie, garlic and truffle oil. The Classica costs $10; the others are $11. Each pizza serves two.
Algarme makes the wood-fired pies himself after-hours at his Bluemont pizzeria and then flash-freezes and shrink-wraps them. The dough, he says, was the hardest thing to get right. After much experimentation, he came up with a recipe that’s a bit more complex than the one he uses for fresh-made pies in-house, with a longer fermentation time, which imbues a sourdough quality. When baked, the frozen pies are firmer and crispier than Neapolitan pies tend to be, but the trademark dots of char on the crust’s edge are there. They put other frozen pizzas to shame.
So say goodbye to DiGiorno and make extra room in your freezer. These winners are available for purchase at Pupatella (5104 Wilson Blvd.) as well as at both locations of The Italian Store (3123 Lee Highway and 5837 Washington Blvd.) and at European Foods Import Export (2700 N. Pershing Drive). www.pupatella.com