pizzaiola

[ peet-suh-yoh-luh ]

adjective

1. Italian Cooking. prepared with a tomato sauce containing oregano and often other ingredients, as typically used in making pizza:

   Veal pizzaiola is a much loved Italian winter dish that I grew up eating as a kid.

2. relating to, suitable for, or used in the making of pizza:

   The kitchen features a pizzaiola counter with a carrara marble top.

   This recipe is our take on the classic pizzaiola sauce.

noun

1. a female pizza chef:

   She is now the pizzaiola at one of the city’s most frequented Italian restaurants.

2. Italian Cooking. a seasoned tomato sauce, as used in the making of pizza and pizzaiola dishes:

   Spread the pizzaiola on your base by putting a blob in the middle and then moving the pan quickly back and forth.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pizzaiola¹

First recorded in 1910–15; feminine of pizzaiolo ( def ); adjectival sense from Italian alla pizzaiola “in the manner of a female pizza chef”; à la ( def )