For me, it adds saltiness without adding, uh, fishiness.
Now that sounds tasty.
I love black olives on pizza too but it’s a little bland.
Black olives are an excellent pizza topping, but they need to be with others to reach their best flavor. I personally make a sausage, olive and mushroom pizza on a regular basis.
“Puttanesca” pizza with olives, anchovies, and capers (and red pepper flakes) is quite a lovely combination. The thing I find about anchovies is I prefer them when either placed on the pizza towards the end of cooking or even at the end of cooking. Cooked the entire time I find is suboptimal, but I’ll take it any way.
The absolute best pizza I’ve ever had was the Pizza Rosa from Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix. It’s not quite as good as it was when Chris Bianco was working it, but it’s still something I crave every time I come to Phoenix (like, now.) It’s red onions, parmagiano-reggiano, rosemary, Arizona pistachios. That’s it. No sauce. No mozzarella. Oh, and drizzled olive oil. I don’t know why, but that combination just sends me. (Well, it’s not just the toppings–their dough/crust is perfection when they’re firing on all cylinders. The last several years, it’s been hit or miss, so getting like 8/10 instead of 10/10).
I love anchovies on pizza. I find it best to add them late in the cooking process about a minute before you take it out of the oven, but I like anchovies.
All the love for anchovies has reminded me that I actually do like anchovies. Once 25 years ago some friends and I went to Pizza Hut (this was when they still did the greasy, tear your mouth up crush) and as a “goof” we ordered anchovies and it was gross…then a few years later I tried it at a gourmet place and it was awesome.
I also had a kind of clam chowder pizza at a place in Chicago that was pretty damn good.
Feta cheese and tomato. Surprisingly simple, but it really compliments the pizza with just the right amount of saltiness/brightness.
Sounds good. I may well try that.
A little pizza joint on the outskirts of Winter Haven, FL, served up my fave – White Pizza. No tomato sauce on the dough, a layer of olive oil (they got just the right amount every time; nothing worse than an oily, soggy pie), layer of mozz, then I would get chicken, which would grill as the pie cooked, another thin layer of olive oil, more mozz, then the capper – several heaping spoonfuls of ricotta, which would sometimes spread out into little pools of deliciousness and sometimes create little cheesy mounds to bite through, or both at the same time. The dough: very thin but not burned or limp/soggy.
No idea if they’re still in business but, dammit, I’m starving all of a sudden.
Pineapple on pizza? On Italian pizza? On Neapolitan pizza?!?
Oh, the horror! say traditionalist. Hey, maybe it’s okay? say others. The nation of Italy is split, with passionate defenders of both sides.
Reading the description of it, it sounds intriguing. Not at all like what the average American pizzeria would produce.
I checked and the Winter Haven pizza parlor is still in business and it’s only a nine hour round trip! If you don’t hear from me for a couple days you’ll know why.
In less time than that, you might be able to catch a flight to Connecticut for real pizza.
I love a challenge.
I don’t eat much pizza–too carb-heavy and I’m not a melted cheese fan–but we had some sitting around and I dumped some hot giardinara on it (the kind you’d add to an Italian beef sandwich) and, my goodness, but that slice was tasty.
People do look at me funny when I tell them so, though.
FYI, Avelo Airlines flies directly to New Haven (Pizza Capital of the World) from Savannah. They even have flights from Chicago so those of you there can taste what you’ve been missing.
It’s even better baked in. A few spoons (drained) and some onion before baking takes a cheapo frozen pizza into fair territory.
Good to know, thanks!
Really? That’s a fairly standard pizza topping here in Chicago, but that type of giardiniera is fairly regional, as is Italian beef, so I suspect you must be somewhat from the area. I would say after sandwiches, pizza is the best use of giardiniera. Lately I’ve seen it a lot in fresh Italian sausages as well, though I have yet to purchase any to try.
You’re taking on the entire Windy City metro area in a pizza challenge? You’re a braver man than I am, Gunga Din. 
New Haven can take them.