I've noticed lately that people are freaking out for pizza with French fries. I'm here to make you all even more mad, and at the same time, I want you to tell a peculiar thing about a city that I love, based in North Sardinia: Sassari. Sassari has always been a poor city, and our food culture is based on that: Eggplant, Innards (known as Ziminu, with "Cannaculu", rectum, being one of the most appreciated delicacies), Snails (Ciogga, taken from the ground when it rains).
When you are in a really poor city, and you want something not cooked at home, savoury but inexpensive, what do you eat? French fries or pizza are some of the answers, right? (Pretend for a minute that you are Southern Italian and pizza is not an expensive food, for the sake of the story). Sassarese people decided on both. Here it's really normal to eat a pizza with French fries on top when you are out and hungry; you are not seen as a kid or a weirdo. It's that normal that not only this type of pizza is always on the menu, but people ask for it when sitting at the restaurant.
We have basically 3 versions of it: the normal round pizza that you eat from the box, the small round pizza that is folded in 2 with and the Pizza al Taglio (Pizza by the Slice) that here in Sassari has its peculiar dough. With every version of this pizza, you can choose if you want Salsa or not, usually Salsa Rosa, a blend of ketchup and mayonese, and also this, it's normal. And not normal like accepted, no guys, it's normal like you can even order this when sitting at the restaurant and no one makes fun of you. (I work weekends as a kitchen hand in a Pizzeria; I'm attacching a photo of an order I've cooked last Saturday lol). A very common variation is also Salsiccia e Patate (Sausage and French Fries), and this need a special mention too because, Sausage in Sardinia isn't like a wiener/schnitzel, but we mean a pretty specific version of a sausage, our Sardinian seasoned sausage, that visually, when sliced, can look like Pepperoni. In menus, "Sardinian" is always with this sausage and black olives.
Also, not pizza related, but writing this, I'm realizing that we may have a problem with french fries. When you order a burger (or when you used to; social networks are slowly driving our people to a more globalized culture), usually, you don't have french fries as a side. No man, you have them INSIDE the burger.
Among students, is also pretty popular a sandwich that contains only french fries and salsa rosa, but actually I don't have photos of this, and you might be a little too shocked, knowing already these things are pretty strange to you hahahaha.
Obviously, this is not limited to Sassari city itself, but it's spread across all the island, not in the same measure, and as much as you go down in the island, the more it starts to become more uncommon.
by iBoofNoopept
16 Comments
Wait until you try pizza Rossini
In Campania and Naples fries on pizza is common too, mostly with wustel (hot dog). Wustel e patatine!
This is why I can’t stand it when people from a country (or even worse, NOT from that country) say “EEEWWW WE NEVER DO THIS, THIS IS NOT AUTHENTIC.” Like shut up, sometimes you cross the street they do things differently!
Rectum? Why not?
But pineapple? No fucking way.
Continentales can’t even begin to grasp how good sardinian sausage tastes like, and how well it fits on pizza
As for fries, I’m a bit shocked there’s discourse, because hardly anybody will tell you they don’t go there, although I rarely saw them in the menus abroad, personally I never take it without because you can’t beat the feeling of being stuffed afterwards
Sassari merda
Your first problem is trying to explain to Americans about culture, they won’t understand
It is a little wild, but I’ll always trust Sardinia. Have an Ichnusa for me!
It’s not a Sardegna thing, you can find it in mainland Italy too. Also, a lot of pizza in Italy downright sucks and no one ever seems to notice or acknowledge it. I’ll die on this hill and never order pizza (unless I can see a picture first).
I think the “strangest” Sardinian pizza you can try is the Carlofortina: tomato sauce, pesto, tuna and fresh cherry tomatoes… Only around Cagliari though
The French fries in a sandwich is common in the uk as well, known as the chip butty. Who knew Italy and the uk had such shared gastronomic heritage 😅
Pizza is not a Sassari product. In other cities, too, there are obfuscations like these (Pizza Rossini in Pesaro, for example). But these are local isolated cases. The general Italian culture is certainly not represented by these exceptions. It would be like saying that the burger with fried crickets is an American tradition. There may be some who make it, but it is certainly not what you normally find in fast food restaurants.
Yes, it is true that pizza with frankfurters and chips can be found in most pizzerias in Italy (but without mayonnaise!) but it was invented for children in the 1980s. Adults don’t order it and if they do they are usually made fun of.
Never seen pizza with salsa rosa in cagliari, but had a friend that always asked fries pizza with ketchup and mayo (maybe he’s a tattaresu in disguise)
I think the “pizza con le patatine” thing was originally made up for kids but then got popular because, hey, it’s really good and adults started to like it as well
Pizza with fries is great
French fries (or at least potatoes) and pizza is fairly common I’ve seen. And I don’t think it’s just a tourist thing.
They make spaghetti with meatballs in Abruzzo (la chitarrina teramana) and I’ve seen it often at the border of Campania/Lazio.
They break spaghetti for broth-based dishes. Notably u brudett’ in Molise.
I’ve seen countless mixes of seafood and cheese.
Written Italian recipes of proto-carbonara used cream.
Basically wherever there is an Italian culinary faux pas there will be a fellow Italian tradition that breaks it.