How Extra Virgin Olive Oil Elevates Traditional Neapolitan Pizza

Summary

Salvatore Salvo, a renowned piz­za­iuolo, empha­sizes the impor­tance of using high-qual­ity extra vir­gin olive oil on tra­di­tional Neapolitan piz­zas, both dur­ing bak­ing and after. He pairs dif­fer­ent olive oils with spe­cific piz­zas to enhance the fla­vors of each dish, focus­ing on bal­ance and har­mony between the oil and other ingre­di­ents. Salvo’s ded­i­ca­tion to select­ing the right oils and exper­i­ment­ing with dif­fer­ent blends high­lights the ongo­ing research and com­mit­ment to qual­ity that ele­vates the pizza expe­ri­ence at Pizzeria Salvo.

Pizza is one of the most beloved Italian — more pre­cisely, Neapolitan — dishes. Famed around the world, it is pre­pared and enjoyed in many styles and accord­ing to a wide range of tech­niques.

Extra vir­gin olive oil is a fun­da­men­tal ingre­di­ent in tra­di­tional pizza, added as a fin­ish­ing touch to com­plete the recipe. It can be used on piz­zas of every style, play­ing a key role in ele­vat­ing the final result.

“Olive oil is an impor­tant ele­ment, one that truly makes a dif­fer­ence on a pizza, and it must be used wisely and in a bal­anced way, just like all the other ingre­di­ents,” Salvatore Salvo told Olive Oil Times.

Recognized as one of the best ​‘piz­za­iuoli’ of his gen­er­a­tion, Salvo co-founded Pizzeria Salvo, which for sev­eral years has con­sis­tently ranked among the world’s best pizze­rias.

At his restau­rant along Naples’ Riviera di Chiaia, Salvo crafts tra­di­tional Neapolitan pizza, refin­ing each cre­ation with high-qual­ity extra vir­gin olive oils sourced from across Italy.

“I have been select­ing oils for my piz­zas for 15 years, and I began this research in col­lab­o­ra­tion with tech­ni­cians and pro­duc­ers,” Salvo recalled. ​“Today there is a much broader and grow­ing aware­ness of qual­ity, but when we started, knowl­edge of extra vir­gin olive oil was far more lim­ited. Oil was often described sim­ply as ​‘heavy’ or ​‘light.’ I decided to intro­duce a high-qual­ity extra vir­gin olive oil selec­tion in my pizze­ria to ele­vate my piz­zas while help­ing spread olive oil cul­ture.”

Just days ago, Pizzeria Salvo released its new menu, fea­tur­ing 35 piz­zas, all paired with extra vir­gin olive oils from pro­duc­ers across Italy, with a strong pres­ence from Campania.

How to use extra vir­gin olive oil on tra­di­tional pizza

“Choosing a high-qual­ity extra vir­gin olive oil is the first step to achiev­ing a great result,” Salvo said. ​“Then we must con­sider that even an oil we par­tic­u­larly like may be per­fect on one pizza and less har­mo­nious on another.”

“For this rea­son, the sec­ond step is to use oil in a way that allows its count­less aro­mas, vary­ing inten­si­ties, bit­ter­ness and spici­ness to come into bal­ance with the other ingre­di­ents, from the tomato to the moz­zarella and beyond.”

Salvo’s method involves a first driz­zle of extra vir­gin olive oil on the pizza disc, topped with all the ingre­di­ents, just before it is placed in the oven. He then com­pletes the pizza with a sec­ond driz­zle a few sec­onds after it comes out.

“Extra vir­gin olive oil is the ele­ment that fin­ishes the com­po­si­tion,” Salvo said. ​“For the first driz­zle dur­ing bak­ing, I usu­ally use a well-bal­anced blend, adding four to five grams. The sec­ond driz­zle, applied as the pizza comes out of the oven, mea­sures five to six grams and con­sists of an oil — either a mono­va­ri­etal or a blend — selected specif­i­cally for that pizza.”

Oil applied dur­ing bak­ing helps melt and unite the ingre­di­ents, Salvo explained. ​“Without it, the com­po­nents remain dis­con­nected. The oil cre­ates a true mar­riage between the ele­ments.”

“Because high tem­per­a­tures degrade the aro­matic com­pounds of the first oil, a sec­ond oil is essen­tial,” he added. ​“As the pizza cools slightly, the con­di­tions become ideal for the oil to express its sen­sory qual­i­ties. The warmth ampli­fies the aro­mas, and by the time the pizza reaches the table, cus­tomers can per­ceive their full expres­sion.”

Margherita

Salvo has cre­ated seven dif­fer­ent ver­sions of the glob­ally rec­og­nized Margherita pizza.

“My most clas­sic Margherita is made with San Marzano DOP tomato,” he said. ​“The oil must have a com­plex fruiti­ness that inte­grates with and sup­ports the fresh­ness and acid­ity of the tomato and Fior di latte moz­zarella.”

For this pizza, Salvo often selects Campanian vari­eties such as Salella and Rotondella, with herbal notes and hints of arti­choke, as well as a bal­anced Ravece with tomato notes. He is cur­rently using a blend devel­oped in col­lab­o­ra­tion with a Campanian pro­ducer specif­i­cally for this sta­ple pizza.

“My Margherita Caramella, made with Datterino Caramella tomato from the foothills of Vesuvius, is par­tic­u­larly sweet, with body and almost no acid­ity,” Salvo explained. ​“In that case, I look for an oil with greener notes and a level of bit­ter­ness and pun­gency that helps bring out the tomato’s acid­ity.”

For this ver­sion, he chose a blend of Itrana and Coratina from Campania, with vibrant notes of freshly cut grass, tomato leaf, and arti­choke heart.

Capricciosa

Another tra­di­tional pizza is Capricciosa, char­ac­ter­ized by savory notes of salami and anchovies, along with arti­chokes and olives.

“This pizza calls for an oil with dis­tinct bit­ter­ness that har­mo­nizes the savory ele­ments while enhanc­ing each one,” Salvo said. ​“I imag­ine it like a stage set, where the oil becomes the struc­ture that sup­ports and reveals the fla­vors.” He pairs it with a blend of Apulian vari­eties, includ­ing Coratina and Ogliarola Barese.

Marinara

Salvo’s Marinara — a clas­sic pizza that likely orig­i­nated in Naples’ port area as a meal for mariners — includes four ingre­di­ents: ancient Naples tomato eco­types, wild oregano, basil and extra vir­gin olive oil.

For this pizza, he uses an Itrana mono­va­ri­etal pro­duced in Campania, char­ac­ter­ized by bal­samic hints of mint, basil and pars­ley, with notes of tomato, banana and white apple.

“The Marinara is extremely aro­matic and needs an oil with com­plex­ity, veg­e­tal and bal­samic notes, and a spici­ness that cre­ates har­mony,” Salvo said. ​“This pizza also needs almost twice as much oil as the oth­ers — I would say it has to be over-oiled.”

He fin­ishes it with a dou­ble driz­zle, reach­ing at least 10 to 12 grams of oil.

Quattro Formaggi

Salvo’s Quattro Formaggi includes Fior di latte, Ol Sciur (a blue goat cheese aged with red fruits and rose petals), a semi-aged goat’s milk caciotta from Bagnoli Irpino, aged pro­volone, and goat-and-cow milk robi­ola.

“With this level of inten­sity, I choose a very bal­anced oil with lin­ger­ing bit­ter and spicy notes,” Salvo said.

He pairs it with an Umbrian blend of Leccino and Frantoio, offer­ing fresh­ness and com­plex­ity with notes of white almond, arti­choke, flo­ral and bal­samic hints, and touches of white pep­per, wild thyme and cin­na­mon.

Pizza al Pomodoro

The same oil also pairs well with Pizza al Pomodoro, pre­pared using six dif­fer­ent tomato vari­eties, each processed dif­fer­ently to high­light its char­ac­ter.

“Here the oil plays a par­tic­u­larly impor­tant role, since it’s a very sim­ple, dairy-free pizza,” Salvo said. ​“This ele­gant and com­plex oil cre­ates the ver­ti­cal­ity I was look­ing for in its com­po­si­tion.”

Closing take­aways

Salvo empha­sized the impor­tance of under­stand­ing oils and work­ing care­fully on pair­ings. The oil should not be so sub­tle that it dis­ap­pears, nor so bold that it over­pow­ers, but instead acts as a uni­fy­ing ele­ment that enhances all ingre­di­ents.

“Some piz­zas are savory and intense, oth­ers lean toward sweet­ness or fea­ture the acid­ity of dairy prod­ucts — all fac­tors to con­sider when select­ing the right oil,” he said.

At the end of each har­vest, Salvo and his col­lab­o­ra­tors visit pro­duc­ers at farms and mills to taste oils and exper­i­ment. They select mono­va­ri­etals and blends, and some­times cre­ate new blends tai­lored to spe­cific piz­zas.

“Our research never stops,” Salvo said. ​“Every har­vest is dif­fer­ent, and every year the oils express new aro­matic fea­tures. Each time, we dis­cover out­stand­ing prod­ucts that ele­vate pizza at its very best.”