The same weekend that Cliff and I went to Eataly we also ate amazing food all over the city. It was seriously one of the best weekends ever in regards to what I ate. And that is saying a lot because I really like food! We ate tacos, pizza, doughnuts and had an amazing dinner at La Madia. I researched where to eat for our big night out weeks in advance. I kept making reservations and then cancelling them in favor of a different restaurant. In the end it was a cold rainy night and we didn’t feel like walking very far or taking public transportation. I looked up restaurants within half a mile of our hotel and finally decided on La Madia. I had never heard of it but it had good Yelp reviews so we decided to give it a try. The restaurant was located just around the block from our hotel. We exited the hotel made a quick turn around the corner and there was the restaurant. Not a far walk at all. In fact we realized later that we could see the restaurant sign from our hotel room. Haha!
Once there, we immediately saw that they had pizza fondue on the menu and we knew we had made a good choice. Obviously, we ordered it. What came out was a little surprising. There was a little cup of creamy tomato sauce and then this huge hunk of bread. I believe the bread was pizza dough that they stuck in the oven until it blew up like a pillow. Unfortunately, we do not have a wood burning oven in our house so we had to use french bread in our version. We really enjoyed the appetizer (and our whole meal) and recreated it right away. The sauce is zesty and creamy and pairs perfectly with the crusty, garlic-y bread. I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did.
Here is what you’ll need
Combine the sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic, and mascarpone cheese and bake
Brush the bread with olive oil and bake
Give the fondue a good stir before serving
Hot, creamy, & delicious!
- 1 14.5 ounce can of tomato sauce
- 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced, separated
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 1 loaf french bread
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
- Combine the tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, and mascarpone cheese into an oven safe bowl. We used a large soup bowl.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- While that is baking make the toasts.
- Slice the bread about 1/2 inch thick.
- Brush with olive oil and arrange on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 5 minutes or until golden brown and toasty.
- Rub each piece of bread with a clove of garlic.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper; set aside.
- Remove the fondue from the oven and give it a good stir.
- Serve the hot pizza fondue with toasts.
