The Mushroom-Lover's Pizza
Not every pizza wants tomato. The Pizza Appennina at ALBA, the Amalfi-inspired Italian restaurant in Knightsbridge opposite Harrods, was a white pizza built for the other end of the Italian larder - earthy porcini mushrooms and black truffle over a wood-fired base, no red sauce in sight. It ran through the summer and has now left the menu. This is a record of the pizza as ALBA made it, and of the seasonal pizza that has taken its place.
What Was Pizza Appennina?
Where most of the menu looks to the coast, the Appennina headed inland. It took its name from the Apennines - the mountain spine that runs the length of Italy, and the country's great mushroom-and-truffle country. In place of tomato, it layered porcini and black truffle over a thin, blistered crust: a woodland pizza rather than a coastal one, and one of the few on the menu that skipped the tomato entirely. It was vegetarian, and it ate richer and deeper than a classic red pizza.
Porcini and Black Truffle
The two toppings did different jobs. Porcini - the prized cep of the Italian autumn - brought a dense, savoury, almost meaty depth. Black truffle sat over the top, aromatic and earthy, the scent arriving a moment before the flavour. Together they made the Appennina the order for anyone who loved mushrooms, and a natural next step for guests who already gravitated to ALBA's truffle dishes. An extra shaving of black truffle could be added at the table, as it still can on any pizza at ALBA.
Wood-Fired, Naples-Style
Every pizza at ALBA comes out of a wood-fired oven imported from Naples, running hot - around 480°C - so a pizza cooks in roughly three minutes. That fierce, quick heat is what gives the base its char-spotted lift, and it is what kept the porcini and truffle on the Appennina from overcooking. You can watch it happen: the oven sits on the line, in full view of the room. It is the same oven behind ALBA's wood-fired pizzas across the board.
The Pizza That Has Taken Its Place
The pizza line-up at ALBA is short and deliberate: the signature ALBA pizza, the Diavola and the Quattro Formaggi stay all year, and one pizza follows the season. The Appennina was the summer's. The autumn's is the Pizza Funghi, golden chanterelles and veal jus on the same twenty-four-hour dough, which is the order now for anyone who came for the mushrooms. The current pizzas are on the menu.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Pizza Appennina?
ALBA's white pizza topped with porcini mushrooms and black truffle - no tomato - fired in a wood oven. It was named after the Apennine mountains, Italy's mushroom-and-truffle heartland.
Was Pizza Appennina vegetarian?
Yes. It was topped with porcini mushrooms and black truffle, with no meat or fish.
What did Pizza Appennina taste like?
Rich and earthy - the deep, savoury flavour of porcini beneath the aroma of black truffle, on a thin wood-fired base, without the acidity of a tomato pizza.
Is Pizza Appennina still on the menu?
No. It has left the menu. The seasonal pizza at ALBA now is the Pizza Funghi, with chanterelles and veal jus, and black truffle can still be added to any pizza on request.
Where is ALBA London?
At 70 Brompton Road, London SW3 1ER, directly opposite Harrods in Knightsbridge.
