Right here’s a deep, burning query: Is there something higher than selfmade, piping-hot pizza? In response to journalist and one-time pizzaiola Ivy Knight (@ivyporkchopknight), the reply – no less than for Atlantic Canadians – is a convincing sure, and it’s pizza served with garlic fingers and donair sauce.
The wedding of garlic bread and cheese pizza is a Maritime province specialty (a area in Jap Canada that features Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) and the rationale these fingers are distinct is twofold: the reduce and the sauce. Positive, it might look like a pizza due to its spherical form, nevertheless it ought to by no means be reduce like one; i.e., no triangular slices, solely skinny strips. As soon as reduce, you could serve the fingers with a dipping sauce, although not marinara, ranch, or blue cheese, and definitely not pink sauce. For Canadians, solely donair sauce will do.
Impressed by tzatziki (a Greek yogurt sauce) the donair sauce (and dish) wasn’t invented till the Seventies, when Greek brothers Peter and John Gamoulakos opened Velos Pizza in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Ivy’s recipe is a nod to the unique, fast to make, and solely requires condensed milk, white vinegar and garlic powder. And whereas it’s unbelievable as a dipping sauce for these garlic fingers, it’s additionally scrumptious drizzled over a donair pizza.
So the subsequent time you’re feeling further hungry or indulgent, why not serve garlic fingers and donair sauce alongside your pizza or as a late-night candy and savory snack? Tacky, garlicky, and almost inconceivable to cease consuming, don’t miss out on this genuine style of Canada.
Wish to study extra in regards to the historical past of the donair? Try Ivy’s essay right here.