Simplicity, developed flavors and shareability often make for menu success today. Showing off that simple approach with a beautiful rusticity is the Melanzane at Mioposto Pizza: fire-roasted and marinated eggplant layered with fresh mozzarella atop a bed of arugula, drizzled with a bright mint-basil salsa verde.
“It’s served with our warm house-baked bread, which is used to sop up the olive oil from the salsa verde with bits of herb, eggplant, cheese and the occasional arugula leaf,” says Tiah Holt-Hardy, Owner and Chief Food Officer. “The texture is rich and creamy, with some chew from the smoky skin on the eggplant. Then when you get the herbal flavors of the salsa verde and touch of bitterness from arugula, you suddenly have this moment where you start to speak with your hands because your mouth is full, and you want to say, ‘Oh my gosh, this is amazing!’”
Melanzane appears as a small-plate option at dinner or an entrée during lunch. “This dish encompasses what rustic food is to me, with its simple elegance, satisfying comfort and incredible flavor,” says Holt-Hardy. “It’s not fussed with. The ingredients come together and make a statement on their own.” She says the salsa verde from the Melanzane shows up elsewhere on the menu, such as on the popular Lamb Sausage Pizza.