Each pizza from La Stella Trattoria comes out of the wood-burning oven with character and style to spare. (Spencer Sterritt/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

WOOD FIRED

Signature Dish: La Stella Trattoria’s Pepperoni Pizza

Sep 10, 2021 | 2:08 PM

NANAIMO — Every pizza served at La Stella Trattoria has its own unique story.

Each pizza is different from what came before, from how the dough is tossed by the chefs to the heat it receives in the pizzeria’s eye-catching wood burning oven.

Jordan White, chef de cuisine at La Stella’s Wesley St. location, said using a wood burning oven gives their creations a personality you won’t find at other pizzerias.

“It’s not perfect every time but it’s got character. It’s beautiful in its flaws,” he said of the way the pizza crust comes out of the oven with a spotted, charred look.

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“The extra character you get from the wood fire and the high heat peaks inside produce something more interesting than a deck oven pizza which is golden brown all around.”

Despite what some might consider a burned look, the crust is delicious all the way around and helps bring out the subtle flavours of their pizza.

The pepperoni pizza is one of the most popular on La Stella’s menu. Despite a seemingly simple recipe there’s a tantalizing mix of flavours in each bite.

The pepperoni is homemade by La Stella chefs, which White said is an arduous process but it lets them season the meat exactly how they want. Slices of pepperoni are laid out on the crust until they cover the entire surface, guaranteeing a meaty and satisfying bite every time.

The cheese laid on the dough underneath is a mix of classic pizzeria-style mozzarella and 36-month parmesan.

“It gives it the extra savoriness we really want on the pizza,” White said.

The layers of pepperoni are then glazed with chili honey, using Fredericks honey from a Cedar farm, and Calabrian chili’s to give it an authentic Italian zing.

“In Italy they’d finish off pizza with jars of honey infused with chilis and you’d use it to finish off your pizza. It’s a classic finishing touch and it works really well with pepperoni.”

The pepperoni pizza comes out of the oven with each slice of pepperoni curled upwards, ready to be devoured. You’ll almost not want to, given how great it looks. But once you start, it’ll be difficult to stop.

Above and beyond the quality ingredients and unique flavour profile from being cooked in the wood burning oven, White said working in an exposed kitchen adds the perfect bit of personality to each pizza.

“People really enjoy being able to see us out front here making the pizza, seeing the dough thrown in the air. It’s hard to develop that relationship if you’re stuck in the kitchen anonymously pumping out food.”

La Stella is open from 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and from 4 p.m. Friday to Sunday for dine-in and takeaway meals.

The owners recently opened a new kitchen in Nanaimo’s north end specifically for takeaway orders made online starting at 4 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.

Signature Dish is brought to you by Island Savings – A Division of First West Credit Union, learn more at https://www.islandsavings.ca/.

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