This spicy ’nduja, sweet corn and spring onion pizza is designed to work well with the mellow sweetness of a blood orange apéritif from the California-based spirit maker Mommenpop. Their wine-based apéritifs put a modern twist on a classic drink — just like our pizza ovens innovate on the traditional brick oven. We felt an instant kinship as soon as we tried Mommenpop’s beverages, and we knew their light and refreshing flavors would make for a great pizza pairing.

Mommenpop comes from Samantha Sheehan, a Napa Valley winemaker with a penchant for  spritzes (apéritif + bubbly water or bubbly wine). One summer, she found herself searching for a spirit that was less sweet than those in stores and decided to try making one of her own. Seville Orange Mommenpop was born in her kitchen in 2017, and has since become an award-winning apéritif available in  many different flavors made from organic California citrus. Since they’re available online in the United States, you can get them shipped right to your door if you can’t find them in your local specialty grocery.  We think they’re most delicious when paired with evenings spent outdoors eating salty, spicy pizza. 

The same way that wine and beer pair well with pizza, you can and should pair apéritifs with pizza, too. When thinking about the cardamom and rose notes of the blood orange apéritif in this recipe, we noted how blood orange is a little rounder and less bitter than other citrus. Because it has some warmth, it’s great against ingredients with depth of flavor. Our pizza offers sharpness from the spring onions, a mild crème fraîche and mozzarella base, textural funk and heat from ’nduja (a spicy, spreadable Italian paste made from cured pork and peppers) and the juicy, mild sweetness from just-cooked summer corn.

Want to use our formula to create another pairing for this flavor profile?? Make a pizza that combines these three elements: acidity, spice, and mildness.