Oof, the pizza went well, fluffy dough and spicy topping plus the cheese, oh the cheese - buffalo mozarella, so creamy.
I used some left over arrabiatta (leftover queen you’d be proud of me) for the tomato sauce but I also include a very simple tom sauce below if you don’t have any leftovers. I missed out the planned bacon as there was already bacon in the arrabiatta and replaced it with a tasty spring onion from the veg box.
Pizza Dough
(Courtesy of Annie Bell, Evergreen an unusual recipe book, some recipes are very involved and other simple but all are delicious - and vegetarian - a good one to dip into occasionally)
1/4 teaspoon dried yeast
1/4 teaspoon caster sugar
150g strong white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
85ml water
Makes single 27cm pizza, feeds 2 with sides (we had red cabbage coleslaw and a green salad)
1 Mix dry ingredients then add oil then water bit by bit until you have a dough that comes together well (use a bit less water/more flour as needed)
2 Knead for 10 minutes on a floured surface
3 Slash a cross and put it a floured bowl, sprinkle a bit more flour on the top (flour is a bit of a theme here…)
4 Wrap in plastic bag and put somewhere warm to rise for 1-4 hours - the longer the better - it should double in size
5 Knead for 2 minutes on a floured surface and roll out until you have a 27cm round (or rectangle if that is the shape of your tin, but a round one with holes is the best)
6 Leave the base to rise again for 20 minutes whilst you make the topping
Tomato sauce
200g passata
1 or 2 cloves garlic
S&P, herbs (I like basil and oregano)
Olive oil
small tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Heat the oil in a pan and put in the crushed garlic and any dried herbs, fry very gently for a minute, add balsamic
2 Put in passata and simmer very gently for 10-15 minutes (whilst you prepare other toppings)
Assembling the pizza
1 brush a little olive oil over the base
2 add tom sauce
3 add other ingredients (2 or 3 is perfect - today I used some spring onions and field mushrooms) but don’t over pile it
4 Finally put on cheese (I have used a whole buffalo mozarella but a small rindless goats cheese log works well too)
5 Bake in a hot oven - 220 degrees - for about 15 mins, pizza is ready when the top turns golden. Enjoy with a salad or two and a glass of chianti.
Happy Friday!