ANNOUNCER: And now, Signature Dish, a WETA original series.

SETH: Today, on Signature Dish, we're on the search for pizza perfection.

We'll kick things off with something new out of the Eternal City.

SETH: All right, I am a pinsa convert.

Try a different kind of deep dish.

So we're looking at a Midwestern pie just through and through here.

PAULOS: Absolutely, but it's not like that Chicago stuff.

SETH: And finish off with a sourdough pie that comes with an extra boost of flavor.

TARA: You want to get the good stuff on the bottom there, it's like an umami bomb.

SETH: That is just absolutely unfair.

Wow.

I'm Seth Tillman, WETA producer and DC native, and I love good food.

That's why I'm traveling to restaurants across the DMV.

At each stop, looking for the one thing you just gotta try... that Signature Dish.

My first stop takes me to Eastern Market.

Just down the block from the historic landmark, I'm stopping into La Casina.

The shop was opened by Fabrizio Costantini and his wife Angela, who previously ran their family's cafe in Rome, and dreamed of opening up a restaurant in the US.

Instead of pizza on the menu, here you'll find pinsa.

FABRIZIO: In 2009, when I started the dream, I started with this slogan, SETH: While the Roman-style pinsa is supposedly based on an ancient flatbread recipe, the modern version dates to just the early 2000s.

It gets its unique flavor from a mix of three flours: soy, rice, and classic double zero wheat, as well as a high moisture content and low yeast.

After the dough is prepared, it rests for a minimum of 24 hours.

ANGELA: The first time when we open, the people come and, "What is the difference?"

They tasted, and after, "Oh, thank you so much."

SETH: Angela and Fabrizio split the duties in their small kitchen.

ANGELA: What you mean this?

He prepare the dough every morning, very early time, because we need the temperature very low.

And I can decorate like a picture, so he called me the chef artist, because I spent more time for every pinsa.

And I want every pinsa to come out like I want.

Love and passion is two very important ingredients.

SETH: Angela.

ANGELA: Nice to meet you.

SETH: Nice to meet you.

Fabrizio.

FABRIZIO: Nice to meet you.

SETH: I see what looks like maybe three different types of potatoes.

ANGELA: Yes.

SETH: A tricolore.

ANGELA: Tricolore.

SETH: Excited about that.

But what is it that you're making today?

ANGELA: Oh, the dough is a pinsa.

FABRIZIO: And so in this moment it is ready for Angela make the art, because she's the artist.

SETH: All right.

What are you going to put on your canvas of this light, fluffy dough right here?

ANGELA: Okay.

We prepare a special pinsa, the name is Ottavo Colle.

Right now, we use the special flour, this is a rice flour.

SETH: I can see these bubbles trying desperately to escape.

ANGELA: Yes.

FABRIZIO: It's one difference from the other type of pizza, it's oval the pinsa.

SETH: Needs to be oval.

FABRIZIO: Always.

SETH: All right.

ANGELA: Now, I put like this, and this is ready for the topping.

SETH: The bubbles are everywhere.

ANGELA: Exactly.

Now, we use a little just oil.

Potato.

SETH: And these are three different types of potatoes, obviously.

ANGELA: Yes, exactly.

Because the taste is different, the consistency is different.

Salt.

We finish off with a little oil.

FABRIZIO: Olive oil from Italy.

ANGELA: Everything is from Italy.

SETH: Of course.

ANGELA: Of course.

Black pepper.

And the best part of the pinsa, this is Lardo di Colonnata.

SETH: This is cured, so you can eat this?

ANGELA: Just try it.

You can do it.

SETH: All right.

ANGELA: There we go.

Oh my God.

Yes.

It's the best part.

SETH: Oh my goodness.

Is that just going to melt right on top of the pie?

ANGELA: Yes.

This is so perfect, because we can give it to the potato, the special flavor.

There we go, we are ready for the oven.

ANGELA: After Fabrizio cook the pizza two or three minutes, SETH: Talk about artistry, this pie is just gorgeous with all these colors.

ANGELA: Thank you.

FABRIZIO: Thank you so much.

SETH: But I can't help but noticing though, it's not sliced.

ANGELA: No.

FABRIZIO: No.

SETH: How does this work?

ANGELA: So, work with fork and knife.

SETH: Here at La Casina, you do the slicing.

ANGELA: Always.

SETH: And why is that?

ANGELA: In Rome, we eat pinsa with always fork and knife.

SETH: If it's the Roman way, I am willing to try it.

All right, I am a pinsa convert.

ANGELA: Oh, perfect.

SETH: That is absolutely delicious.

ANGELA: Thank you.

SETH: And you know what?

I love how much structure it has.

It has that nice kind of crackery crust on the bottom, but it's such a light, airy bite, like you promised.

It's almost like a great baguette.

ANGELA: Yeah.

SETH: All right, I'm going to pass this over to you guys, so you guys can dig in.

ANGELA: Oh, thank you.

SETH: Please.

Thank you.

And I need to try some more of these potatoes.

Oh, so you don't even pick yours up to eat, you actually eat with a knife and fork as well.

ANGELA: Yeah.

SETH: I thought it was just for slicing.

I didn't even realize I wasn't even doing this the proper Roman way.

ANGELA: No, no, we can eat in both.

SETH: Okay.

FABRIZIO: Yes, yes, for sure.

SETH: You won't look down on customers who pick it up to eat it like an American slice of pizza?

ANGELA: Yes.

Yes, yes, they can do it.

SETH: And this is a Margherita pie?

ANGELA: Yes.

SETH: Oh, that's beautiful.

So what goes on the Margherita?

ANGELA: It's a classic tomato, and... FABRIZIO: From Italy.

ANGELA: Everything is from Italy.

SETH: Of course.

Has to be.

FABRIZIO: And mozzarella Fior... ANGELA: And a fresh mozzarella Fior di Latte.

SETH: I'll do a little comparison test.

This time, I'll eat it with my knife and fork.

All right.

Wow, that sauce has a nice little tang to it as well.

FABRIZIO: What is your favorite in this case?

SETH: Well, the Margherita is delicious, but this Ottavo Colle, I'm not going to find these flavors anywhere else.

I'd say it would have to be a trip to Italy, but this is your recipe, so I know I'm only going to find it here.

ANGELA: Exactly.

You need to come back here.

FABRIZIO: The concept is innovation in tradition.

Angela made the innovation, and us together... ANGELA: Keep the tradition.

FABRIZIO: Keep the tradition.

SETH: Well, that's beautiful.

I love how it's a team effort here.

And from one capital city to another capital city, thank you for bringing this Roman pinsa to DC.

BOTH: Thank you.

SETH: Salute.

ANGELA: Salute.

FABRIZIO: Salute.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ SETH: Next up, is a visit to the heart of DC's Shaw neighborhood.

In a shared virtual kitchen along seventh Street, Chef Paulos Belay is making pizzas the Motor City way.

PAULOS: I grew up in Detroit, in the metro Detroit area, um... My father's from Ethiopia, and my mom is from Mississippi.

My now wife was at graduate school at Michigan, and we met there.

And, so she got a job down here, I decided to come move to DC with her.

When I moved to DC, there wasn't any Detroit pizza available.

I couldn't afford a flight to get home, and so I was like, how can I bring home to here?

I started out making the pizzas just for friends in the city, and everyone really loved the pizza.

And so once COVID hit, and I was out of a job, I was like, let me see if I can try to sell this a couple nights a week.

And it started to really take off, to the point where I was like, wow, I think we might actually have something really special here.

A Detroit-style pizza, it's made in a deep steel pan, but the most important part is we go edge to edge on the cheese, so all of that seeps down the bottom of the pan, and you get a caramelization around the pie.

We finish the pies with racing stripes, two stripes across, on the top of the cheese.

SETH: I'm visiting Paulos to try his signature dish, inspired by both his Detroit upbringing and his father's Ethiopian heritage.

Paulos.

PAULOS: Hey, Seth.

SETH: Nice to meet you.

PAULOS: Welcome to Motown Square here in Shaw.

SETH: Well, thank you so much for having me.

When I think Detroit, I'm thinking Robocop, I'm thinking Eminem.

I'm not thinking pizza, but something tells me I probably should be.

PAULOS: Absolutely.

Detroit-style pizza is definitely picking up in popularity.

So why don't you come on back, and I can show you how we make ours.

SETH: Sounds good.

Let's do it.

PAULOS: So Seth, I just want to start us off by showing how we make our sauce for the Tibs pizza, which is our signature dish.

SETH: So Tibs, this is a Ethiopian meat dish?

PAULOS: Yes, you can pretty much find it at any Ethiopian restaurant.

So we've got a little garlic and butter that we'll add to the pot.

And then we can go ahead and add our onions, jalapeños.

SETH: There are a lot of jalapeños going into this dish right here.

PAULOS: Oh yeah.

SETH: This is a spicy Tibs dish.

PAULOS: For sure.

Now, we can go ahead and add the meat.

SETH: And it looks like this beef's already been seasoned?

PAULOS: Yes, we marinate it overnight with some spices.

You don't want to overcook the meat too much at this stage, we just want to get a nice sear on it.

We're going to go ahead and add our crushed tomato sauce.

SETH: Secret family recipe?

PAULOS: Just the classic crushed tomato look that you'll find on any Detroit pie.

Now that we've added the sauce, we can add a little bit of the berbere.

As this stews, I'm just going to put a little bit of ghee in here, it really boosts the flavor.

And we could just stir that up.

So, Seth, we're going to go ahead and turn the heat down, and just let this stew for about 20 minutes, but I've got some Tibs already made, so why don't you follow me?

SETH: Sounds good.

Let's do it.

All right, this looks good.

So what am I looking at in the pan here, chef?

PAULOS: We've got a par-baked crust in here.

When it comes to making Detroit pizzas, you could par-bake, or just bake fresh.

It really just depends on what kind of oven you're working with.

So the cheese we've got here is a Wisconsin brick cheese.

It's kind of like a white cheddar, but also like a mozzarella at the same time.

It's essential.

SETH: A Wisconsin cheese, Detroit pizza, so we're looking at a Midwestern pie just through and through here.

PAULOS: Absolutely.

But, it's not like that Chicago stuff.

SETH: Chicago, forget that.

So how do you go about getting this pie put together?

PAULOS: So we'll start with the cheese.

We go edge to edge.

SETH: You put the cheese down first before the sauce?

PAULOS: Cheese before the sauce, because if I put the sauce under, it might create kind of a soggy pie, and we don't want to mess with the structure of the dough.

SETH: We do not want that, for sure.

PAULOS: We can go ahead and add these red onions.

And then we're going to go with our standard crushed tomato sauce, which goes on every pie.

SETH: So even before the Tibs goes down, you'll do a little regular sauce.

PAULOS: Absolutely.

We'll just go with our two stripes.

And then once we've got that, we can go ahead and add the Tibs.

SETH: Nicely stewed.

PAULOS: Oh yeah.

So, we finish with the jalapeños.

SETH: More spice.

PAULOS: Oh yeah, we want to keep it hot.

So now that we've got this all topped, we can go ahead and put it in our 425 degree oven.

And it bakes for about 12 minutes, and we will have a nice crispy finish after that.

SETH: Sounds great.

Can't wait, chef.

Chef, this final product looks fantastic.

I'm just going to dig right in.

PAULOS: Let's get it.

SETH: Cheers.

That's excellent.

And I got to try a bite here on the edge.

I'm a little nervous about these jalapeños, but I'm just going to give it a rip, and see how it goes.

PAULOS: For sure.

SETH: That is a crispy, crunchy crust of a pie.

I really like that.

PAULOS: Oh yeah.

I mean, you can even ... And then you see the bottom right there, just the way all the cheese kind of drips down through the pan, I mean, it just creates like, the best bite.

SETH: With the jalapeños too.

It's got a kick, but it's not overwhelming.

PAULOS: Yeah.

I used to put a little bit more in all of the pizzas, but people started to kind of complain about the spice level a little bit, so I decided, let's just keep that specifically for this Tibs pizza, and then everything else can be more of a classic Detroit pie.

SETH: So since you started, you've seen kind of an uptick in popularity in Detroit-style pizza?

PAULOS: Yeah.

When I moved here, there was no Detroit pizzas around, which is why I even started all this.

So some people like to say that you know, it's trendy, or just like having a moment, but I do it just because this is my favorite kind of pizza.

SETH: And I know from my experience, there's a lot of folks in the Midwest here in the DMV, and I know people from Detroit have a lot of pride in the city of Detroit.

PAULOS: Yeah.

It's awesome to kind of bring these two worlds together, one being the city, and also the Ethiopian heritage that I have in my family.

So being able to put these two together is really something special.

SETH: Well, thank you for introducing me to Detroit-style pizza.

I'll definitely be trying it again.

Thanks, chef.

PAULOS: Of course.

♪ ♪ SETH: I am wrapping up my journey in my favorite DC neighborhood, Mount Pleasant, a place I called home for 15 years.

In their cozy subterranean shop, husband and wife team Demetri Mechelis and Tara Smith are turning out complex sourdough pies with a bold Mediterranean bent.

DEMETRI: I grew up in Kensington, Maryland, just a few miles outside of DC.

Our family had a Greek restaurant in Wheaton, Maryland, called Aleko's Taverna.

That's kind of my background, is working for my family restaurant.

And, of course, my mother and my grandmother cooking Greek delicacies my whole life.

TARA: Our namesake, Martha, his mama, is like, an incredible cook, and so we like, infused a lot of like, what he grew up with.

DEMETRI: I mean, I feel like Greek inspired ingredients are very similar to Italian ingredients.

I felt bringing a little bit of the Greek flavor to what ... TARA: He brought himself to it.

DEMETRI: Yeah, I wanted a little piece of me to put on the plate, to put on the pizza.

I became familiar with sourdough probably in my earlier years of cooking, and I never really thought of pizza as sourdough, until a little later.

Probably pre-pandemic, I started becoming very interested in like, what a sourdough pizza could be, and then it just kind of turned into a passion, and a really big interest.

TARA: During the pandemic, we were trying to decide if opening restaurant was a good idea, so we made a lot of dough, and we shared a lot of dough with a lot of friends, and we made a lot of pizza.

DEMETRI: Sourdough is a little more complicated, you need to keep it alive, and it needs a regular scheduled feeding with flour and water to keep a good, healthy, strong levain for your next dough's mix.

TARA: I would say hard work like, always reaps rewards.

And the way that the levain affects the dough is it imparts a flavor that you just don't get from adding yeast.

It is tangy.

It is even more bitter when it is cooked appropriately in the oven.

And it is limited, you know.

It's just like all of those three things kind of come together to make it something really magical.

♪ ♪ SETH: Chef.

DEMETRI: Hey.

SETH: Nice to meet you.

DEMETRI: Good to meet you.

SETH: I am so excited to be here at Martha Deer.

What are you making today?

DEMETRI: We are making a mushroom, spinach, and halloumi pie, with our naturally leavened sourdough pizza dough.

SETH: Halloumi, got a little Greek influence going on.

DEMETRI: Yeah.

SETH: And sourdough, that's a little different, how does that work?

DEMETRI: It is a pizza dough that we naturally leaven with a house made starter, and it's just natural yeast and bacteria, like, just from our atmosphere and environment.

SETH: There's just magical stuff surrounding us at all times.

DEMETRI: Magical stuff that will lift flour into dough.

SETH: I never got into this hobby during the pandemic, so this is all new for me.

And I assume that this is a little harder work than just regular dough?

DEMETRI: Absolutely, yeah.

I mean, it's a full-time job, we feed it three, four times a day.

We have to keep it alive.

SETH: It's like having a pet.

DEMETRI: Absolutely.

SETH: So, chef, how is this all going to come together as a pie?

DEMETRI: So this is our beautiful Martha Dear pizza dough.

It's been bulk fermenting for 24 hours, and it's been proofing for another two or three.

Let me show you how we stretch it.

So we're just pressing our dough, stretching it out to almost the diameter that we want, while maintaining our beautiful crown.

Give it a few flips.

Nice presses.

As you notice, like, I'm not tossing it in the air.

Our dough's pretty well hydrated, so I don't really need to like, do any stretches.

So we can start moving it over to our bench to begin assembly.

We're going to start with our fontina cheese.

SETH: Nice little melting cheese right there.

DEMETRI: Absolutely.

Yeah.

And then we add our housemade stracciatella, which is made out of stretched mozzarella and heavy cream, it adds fat, and flavor, and you know, a little texture.

We'll add our spinach, which is sautéed with Greek olive oil, garlic, and a little bit of seasoning.

SETH: And what kind of mushrooms are these?

DEMETRI: We are using oyster mushrooms, cremini, and portobello.

And then, star of the dish, we have our halloumi cheese.

SETH: Is this the cheese you can light on fire?

DEMETRI: No, but it is the cheese that you can grill.

It's a beautiful like, salt-brined cheese from Cyprus.

It's nicknamed the squeaky cheese, you'll find out.

SETH: The squeaky cheese?

DEMETRI: Yeah.

SETH: Will this actually make some noise?

DEMETRI: It makes noise.

And it's a little salty.

It's fun.

SETH: That's a nice salty cheese.

I can imagine it's going to be a bold flavor on this pie.

Is it time to get this thing in the oven?

DEMETRI: Hell yeah, let me get that peel.

SETH: Let's do it.

DEMETRI: We're going to load this in.

Just like that.

SETH: And this thing is just roaring away.

So we're cooking with gas here, not wood?

DEMETRI: Yeah, gas kind of just suits our needs a little better here with tight spaces, and not really anywhere to put firewood.

SETH: And it's a real blast furnace of heat coming out of this thing.

DEMETRI: Yeah.

SETH: Give it a nice also uniform heat, I imagine?

DEMETRI: Oh yeah.

Yeah.

A very even, even cook.

So right now, I kind of let it set.

I want the dough to develop a nice crust on the bottom.

And then I'll start to periodically start turning the pizza, to have a more even cook.

The walls of the oven are the hottest parts, and the center of the oven will be a little bit cooler, so we kind of just rotate between the two.

Get a little char, get a little bake.

And usually we'll pull it out as soon as we are happy with the color, and how it feels.

SETH: Almost looks like roasted marshmallows on the top there.

DEMETRI: Yeah.

Yeah, I think we're ready to pop this out of the oven.

We're going to take it to the final steps.

So now that the pie is out of the oven, I'm going to finish it with a nice fancy Maldon sea salt, some beautiful Greek extra virgin olive oil, a little bit of lemon juice, because we love that acid on our pies, and freshly grated Parmesan.

Then we're ready to dig in.

SETH: Oh-ho-ho That is a beautiful pie.

I'm just going to go for this.

TARA: Us too.

SETH: It all plays so nicely.

And that extra little layer of brightness that comes from the lemon juice you added.

That is an absolutely delicious slice of pizza.

Well done, sir.

DEMETRI: Thank you.

SETH: I see these beautiful sauces here as well.

How do these work?

TARA: Just add a little extra zhuzh or zing to your pizza.

We make basically our own version of ranch, but we lovingly call it Dill Dip.

We have the Calabrian chili Hot Dip.

And then the Anchovy Butter, or lovingly referred to as Bagna Cauda.

SETH: Well, I like any dipping sauce for pizza, so I'm excited to try this.

TARA: As an anchovy lover, you want to get the good stuff on the bottom there though.

SETH: That is just absolutely unfair... TARA: An umami bomb, right?

SETH: To add that much level of richness to what's already such a good pie.

What's your favorite of these sauces?

TARA: I kind of like to mix and match a little.

I really love the heat from the Calabrian chili Hot Dip, but sometimes it can be a little overwhelming, so I take a little bit of the Dill Dip as well to sort of even it out.

SETH: I'll step a little gingerly on this one?

TARA: Yeah.

You can chart your own path.

SETH: Oh, that's like habaneros right there.

That's legit spicy.

TARA: Yes.

Do you need water?

SETH: No, I need the dill just to cool down my palate a little bit.

TARA: See?

SETH: Look at me, I was going to go with one sauce, and now I'm going for all three.

TARA: It's the best way.

SETH: Nothing like a good gourmet Papa John's dipping sauce to go with your pizza.

Oh yeah.

Demetri, which one's your favorite?

DEMETRI: I love the Dill Dip, it's like a Greek ranch.

Dill is my favorite herb.

There's Greek yogurt in it, and it's got beautiful hints of lemon zest and garlic.

SETH: And just as somebody who spent so much time in Mount Pleasant, I just love that you guys are just adding to this great tradition of neighborhood places in this community.

TARA: It's an incredible neighborhood.

And we actually live here, so we were just overjoyed to be able to find a place to open within the community we know.

DEMETRI: Yeah.

And I thought it was a great opportunity to bring some of my Greek heritage, and to kind of bring those flavors and tradition to a neighborhood that we love so much.

SETH: I love it.

TARA: You've reached the crust.

SETH: Well, now that I've reached the crust, definitely that sourdough flavor is really coming through strongly.

TARA: Yeah.

I really love the interplay of how the sourdough works with the char on the dough.

The toppings are awesome, but it really, once you get to that crust... DEMETRI: Once you get past the squeak, you get to the real deal.

SETH: I feel like I need one last umami bomb, just for the road.

Hits the spot again.

Thank you guys so much for letting me come in here and try this amazing pizza.

Cheers.

TARA: Yamas.

DEMETRI: Yamas.

SETH: Yamas.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ANNOUNCER: To find out more about great food in the Washington Metro area, visit weta.org/signaturedish.