Italian street food is all the rage in Paris, and that's a good thing! What a pleasure it is to discover specialities other than pizzas and fresh pasta, however tasty they may be. Have you ever heard of panozzo, or panozzi when there are several of them? Originating in the Campania region, where Neapolitan pizza also originates, panozzo is said to have been invented in the early 1980s by Giuseppe Mascolo, a pizzaiolo who created this long, hot sandwich for his children's lunches.
Shaped like a pizza dough turnover, panozzo was originally topped with mozzarella and charcuterie, but at Panozzi in Paris, it comes in no fewer than 13 recipes, some traditional, some creative and daring. The concept is a success, if the successive openings of Panozzi in the Marais, near the Canal Saint-Martin, in Vincennes and very soon in the capital's 8th arrondissement, rue de Miromesnil, are anything to go by.
At 30 cm long, Panozzi's panozzo is made with slow-fermented artisan pizza dough, itself prepared daily from high-quality organic flour. This is the real difference with its cousin the panino, which is made from ciabatta bread crushed in a sandwich press. Here, panozzi dough is as crisp as it is airy - and not at all filling!
Now that you know the history and origins of this Italian street food sandwich, it's more than ever time to try it! At Panozzi Marais, you can eat them inside the little restaurant, on the outside table if it's not already full, or take them away. For while it's not easy to enjoy a classic pizza on the sidewalk, the shape of the panozzo is ideal for wolfing it down on foot without getting it all over you!
The restaurant focuses on fresh produce, directly sourced and imported from the other side of the Alps. And the recipes hit the spot, like the panozzo Siciliano (€14.50) with melting mozzarella and eggplant, coppa, pecorino and a homemade pistachio mayonnaise, and the panozzo porcellino (€14.50) with burrata, porchetta (that delicious Italian herbed suckling pig), arugula, grana and basil pesto.
You can also opt for simpler, more classic recipes (€12.50) or, on the contrary, even more inventive creations (€16.50) with truffle cream, bresaola, smoked salmon or salsiccia piccante. What's certain is that, when tasted, all the flavors are easily recognizable in each of the sandwiches, proof of the quality of the ingredients chosen.
Other must-tries on the menu are the arancini (5€), which are both large and particularly tasty (the traditional one with ragù!); the sweet panozzo with homemade Sicilian pistachio cream (7€), the merits of which we were told but were unable to try due to lack of stomach space; and an excellent Sicilian soda with green mandarin orange (4.50€).
Location
Panozzi
17 Rue des Archives
75004 Paris 4
Official website
panozzi.fr
