Keste: A Pizza Dream Come True

While my parents were visiting over the weekend, my husband and I took them on a food pilgrimage to Keste Pizza and Vino in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. As is typical of the best restaurants in the neighborhood, Keste has about 12 tables max and a line out the door. I had read rave reviews in New York Magazine and online hailing this as one of the top 5 pizzas in NY...I figured it would be worth the trip. This is the real deal authentic Neapolitan Pizza. In fact, in the Neapolitan dialect, "keste" means, "this is it." Quite a statement considering the ongoing debate among New Yorkers as to who has the best slice. So we decided to see if Keste was in fact "IT".
We sat patiently at our wooden table against an exposed brick wall watching dozens of colorful pies go by as we sipped our wine and inhaled the rustic aromas. Only a minute or two in the 950* oven and the pizza is done, the melting puddles of Buffalo Mozzarella settling perfectly into a bed of sweet San Marzano tomatoes. One bite and we were all started "food tripping" (aka: when your eyes roll back in your head and you purr as you chew- at a loss for words).
This was definitely "IT".
To your health! (YES. Pizza can be healthy too:)
xox
Leigh

Keste Pizza & Vino is located at 271 Bleeker Street (at Morton St)
*NB: On Mondays and Tuesdays Keste offers gluten-free pies
The Neapolitans favor a thicker pizza with a rim. The dough should be a little over 3mm or 1/8 of an inch thick. The edges are a little thicker so that they will puff up in the cooking process. This means that this will form a natural barrier and keep the filling in the center. I mention this because it's important to know what type of pizza crust you're making. If you're like my husband, you prefer thin crust pizza. My mom on the other hand, loves thicker Neapolitan Crusts. You can imagine how happy she was to find Keste (see photo below).

Click here for the pizza recipe from Keste's Roberto Caporuscio


Below is an excellent homemade pizza dough recipe that adds a nutritional boost with spelt flour and cuts down on time with a quick-rising yeast. If you don't have time to make your own dough, look for whole wheat or gluten free homemade pizza dough in the freezer section of your Whole Foods Market. It's the next best thing to making it fresh yourself and is way better than those processed pre-made frozen crusts.

Quick Healthy Pizza Dough
Serves 1-2 Time:
2 cups light spelt flour
1 1/2 teaspoons quick-rising yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
2/3 cup warm water

1. Stir first 3 ingredients together.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Stir well.
3. Knead until smooth.
4. Stretch to fit greased 10- or 12-inch pizza pan.
5. Top with ingredients of your choice. Here are some of my favorites:
Margherita: tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, extra virgin olive oil
Ortolana: tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, artichoke, mushrooms, extra virgin olive oil
Vegetariana: tomatoes, eggplant, artichoke, mushrooms, zucchini, extra virgin olive oil
(vegan- no cheese)
6. Bake in a preheated 550*F oven (800*F if your oven goes that high) for 5-7 minutes.

Mom with her Keste