Pizza carbonara at Ovio - A dish worth trying in Athens

Can carbonara just be pasta? The answer is no. It's also on pizza, and I'm sure it's not the first time you've heard of it. In fact, it is a pizza that is loved very much in Rome. There it was the first time I tried it. I loved the white, rich sauce that covered the pasta and the crunchy guanciale pieces that made it even more delicious. Since then, I have encountered both great and bad versions of it many times.

I recently tried a delicious version of pizza carbonara at Chef Panos Ioannidis' stylish Italian restaurant in Syntagma. Let me tell you here that pizza at Ovio is one of their best dishes—along with the risotto.

It is prepared in the traditional Neapolitan way, which means that its dough is sourdough that matures slowly. When baked, it does not become hard and crunchy but fluffy with an airy rim.

Delicious combinations are created from this dough. One of them is the Carbonara: mozzarella, pancetta, saffron and parmigiano reggiano.

Of course, the attention is rightfully stolen by the egg yolk, which, with a simple push, breaks and pours out like lava over the rest of the ingredients.

If you visit Ovio, apart from the pizza in question, definitely ask for the crispy arancini, which is made with trachana and not rice, and, of course, the risotto.

Personally, I would tell you to try either the asparagus or the burnt cabbage and raspberries. I would have the gnocchi with gorgonzola, pear, and walnuts when visiting.

Info: Apollonos 4, Athens, tel.: 211 4115 755

Vasilis Dimaras is a columnist for Cantina. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.

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