Detective essentially quizzing a Hawaiian, perhaps (5)

I believe the answer is:

pizza

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'hawaiian perhaps' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'detective essentially quizzing a' is the wordplay.
'detective' becomes 'pi' (private eye).
'essentially' says to take the centre.
The middle of 'quizzing' is 'zz'.
'pi'+'zz'+'a'='PIZZA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pizza that I've seen before include "Italian food item" , "Italian dough based dish" , "Dough-based dish" , "Italian takeaway" , "Dish from Italy" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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