Pizza making is a bit of a family tradition. By saying this I mean we literally create events and evenings simply to make pizza and watch films or play games. I have a lot of cousins on my mom’s side, mostly younger, and it always seemed the perfect way to spend time together: we all love food, we all love getting a bit messy and we all love a good girly evening (my family is predominantly made up of women) As I’ve grown up, wine also seemed to somehow sneak its way onto the menu.
Last night we had a bit of ‘an evening of it’. One of my mom’s best friends brought the toppings, my auntie and cousin brought the wine, and we provided the bases, kitchen, dining room, coffee, pudding and film. The film I can’t say much for – What to expect when you are expecting – I must admit it did stir up a sort of broodiness in me, other than that its price tag of £3 explains itself really.
The pizzas however were seriously top. I understand why people feel the need to buy ready-made pizzas from supermarkets or even takeaways – it’s easy, quick, and hopefully satisfying. But let me tell you now, there is nothing more satisfying than putting EXACTLY what you want on your pizza, all in the grand time of around 20 minutes. I always find myself scraping off so many unwanted toppings – onions especially, but also too much cheese or sometimes even adding more cheese, too much tomato-y garlic-y base layer, and usually finding myself too full or not full enough.
Taking the time to get the perfect size base, right base layer of tomato, exact amount of cheese (if desired), and anything and everything you can think of which would probably taste pretty good on a pizza.
It always proves to be a perfect way to entertain guests – they get stuck in and make exactly what they want – contributing to ingredients – making it a cheap and tasty way to eat together!
So here’s a picture of the pizza I made and the ingredients listed below (I was so engrossed in my masterpiece I forgot to take pictures of everyone elses)
Also check out my next post about a classic pudding which proved to be the perfect pudding after these pizzas (it also uses left over ingredients from Christmas!)
Home-made Pizza (Serves 1 – unless you are willing to share)
Pizza base (home-made: 300g strong bread flour, 1tsp instant yeast, 1tsp salt, 1tbsp olive oil)
Handful of spinach
Tin of passata
Mixed herbs
Sliced tomatoes
Green pesto
Slices of mozzarella
Grated cheese
- Preheat oven to 170 degrees
- If you are making the pizza base from scratch go to the bottom for instructions, if you have bought a pre-made one follow these steps: layer the base with the back of a spoon with as much passata as desired. Sprinkle with mixed herbs
- Grate over some cheese
- Throw on some spinach leaves
- Take a tablespoon and scatter some green pesto over the leaves
- Place a handful of sliced tomatoes over the topping
- Finally put slices of mozzarella on top
- Cook for 10-15 minutes until crispy and the cheese has melted
Instructions for pizza base:
- Put the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and salt.
- Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and the olive oil and bring together with a wooden spoon until you have a soft, fairly wet dough.
- Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins until smooth.
- Cover with a tea towel and set aside. You can leave the dough to rise if you like, but it’s not essential for a thin crust.
- Roll out the dough then split into two balls.
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough into large rounds, about 25cm across, using a rolling pin.
- Place onto lined baking trays
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