The best pizza in Spain is kneaded and baked in Xàbia

Friday 29th April 2022 – Mike Smith
Source: original article – Álvaro Monfort

The gastronomy of Xàbia is very rich and wide. But, who would have thought that it would also stand out in the world of pizzas? La Fabrica della Pizza in Avenida Palmela is responsible for preparing the best Spanish production of this iconic Neapolitan cuisine.

This has been decided by the jury of the First Gourmet Pizzas by Magma de Cabreiroá Championship this week, organized by Salón Gourmets, and the winners of each category will represent Spain at the Campionato Mondiale della Pizza in Parma, Italy.

Alessandro Damiano is the creator of an intriguing proposal that includes a delicacy from the coast of La Marina: the red prawn. But not only this ingredient has been decisive for the restaurateur from Xàbia to have won the prize. His care and respect for the elaboration itself have also been key to the victory.

Presented on a dough fermented for 48 hours, made up of two types of flour and an optimum hydration of 70%, Damiano has spread the cooked juice of the red prawn heads seasoned with lime juice and salt to replace the classic tomato sauce. On top, he has placed a foam of stracciatella cheese with lime peel, quenelles of prawn tartare seasoned with oil and citrus fruits and slightly spicy cherry tomatoes sautéed with lime caviar.

Alessandro Damiano has lived in Spain for 17 years and has spent a few more years studying the culinary possibilities of pizza and transferring his passion for cooking to teaching with a multitude of courses and workshops. Good proof of this is the intriguing menu of his restaurant (which he opened a little over a month ago) where artisan elaborations and unusual combinations predominate. He also owns a workshop, La Academia della Pizza, where he makes pizza bases for other restaurants and teaches courses on this popular dish. Damiano claims that the secret is in the base: “the most important thing is the dough and combining three or four ingredients at most, but that they are well balanced, and play with flavours and contrasts“.

With such creation and flavour, it was not surprising that La Fabbrica della Pizza has taken first place in the classic category. The rest of the winners have been José Manuel Vallejo from Lemon Food (Melegís, Granada) in the gluten-free pizza category; Daniele Conté de Sorsi e Morsi (Valencia) in the racket category; Brayan Rodríguez from Kilómetros de Pizza (Madrid) who has won in the taglio or cut into portions, and Francis Tolu from Pizzería Venecia (Alginet) in the acrobatics category.