In an excerpt from his new book, FRANCO PEPE: Pizza Chef, the Italian pizza maestro shares the story behind one of his greatest hits, the Margherita Sbagliata. Appetito recommends buying the book, which also features a pizza dough used in this recipe. Plus, you'll find great stories behind the pizzeria that Pepe has maintained in Caiazzo, outside of Naples, and more.
“This pizza symbolizes the founding of Pepe in Grani; it represents the inner creativeness that I had been trying to express for years.”
Pizza Margherita Sbagliata (“Pizza Margherita Gone Wrong”) marked the beginning of a new chapter. In fact, the use of that adjective “wrong” in the name itself was so liberating that nobody could fail to notice that something different was happening, a new course had been taken. For the first time, with a provocation never before seen, it was as if Neapolitan tradition had become outdated and the basic rules of its identity no longer mattered.
“If my pizza doesn’t meet traditional standards, I don’t care! I’ll call it ‘wrong,’ but at least it will be MY pizza!” Franco stresses. Franco Pepe’s Margherita Sbagliata came about for a very simple, technical reason: the riccio tomato could not withstand the heat of the oven. Subjecting it to that heat changed its original flavor and did not enhance its qualities. So Franco decided to add it after baking the pizza, twisting and overturning the original idea of the traditional pizza Margherita, for which cooking the tomato is an essential part. This change to the timing of the addition of the topping ingredient, and the sharp differentiation of individual flavors on the pizza was an important and crucial step in Franco’s journey.
The Pizza Margherita Sbagliata that was created in 2012 in Vicolo San Giovanni Battista, Caiazzo, is a pizza Margherita whose ingredients are exalted to the maximum, whose flavors are respected in a way that is both healthy and functional, and whose playfulness and design emerge effortlessly and without fear of judgment by others.
Eight red stripes on a white background in vivid dialogue with bright green drops of basil sauce—as an art critic might say—is a pizza that is finally freed from convention and ready to be considered a true work of art. “We must remember that we Italians are also from the country of art and design. Why shouldn’t a pizza also play with these dimensions, illustrating shapes, geometries, and color combinations, as well as balance of flavors and taste? That can also be called evolution!” Franco vehemently concludes.
Extracted from FRANCO PEPE © 2025 by Franco Pepe. Photography © 2025 by Adam Bricker and Brian McGinn. Reproduced by permission of Phaidon. All rights reserved.
Franco Pepe's Margherita Sbagliata
1
servings30
minutes5
minutesIngredients
- For the fresh basil sauce
50 g 50 / 1 3/4oz fresh basil leaves
2 tsp 2 extra virgin olive oil
- For the pizza
280 g 280 / 10oz pizza dough
120 g 120 / 4 ¼oz Riccio tomato sauce
pinch fine salt
10 g 10 / 1/3oz of fresh basil sauce
150 g 150 / 5oz Mozzarella di Bufala di Campania PDO, sliced
1 1 ½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- Pour the tomato sauce into a strainer over a bowl and let it drip through the mesh until very thick and creamy.
- Transfer the sauce to a squeezy bottle, season with a pinch of salt, and chill to 39°F / 4°C in the refrigerator.
- For the basil sauce, blanch the basil leaves in boiling water for a few seconds. Drain and immediately shock in a container of water with plenty of ice. This will preserve their intense green color.
- When cool, drain the leaves well and blend, adding the extra virgin olive oil and a few ice cubes. When a smooth liquid forms, transfer to a squeezy bottle and refrigerate at 39–41°F / 4–5°C.
- Stretch the dough into a disk, leaving a uniform crust around the entire circumference.
- Arrange the mozzarella slices on the pizza, drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil and bake for 1 minute 30 seconds–2 minutes at 790–840°F / 420–450°C.
- Once cooked, finish the pizza by piping eight small strips of tomato sauce over the cheese and drizzling over dots of basil sauce.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @appetitomagazine on Instagram and hashtag it with #italianfoodanddrink
Like this recipe?
Follow @Appetitomagazine on Pinterest
Follow us on Facebook!
Follow us on Facebook
