Home Made Pizza with Mozzarella, Olives and Anchovies - Pizza Romana Recipe

Sure, you can buy a ready made Pizza, and have it delivered - they are cheap and easy and…….well, they are cheap and easy. If you have ever eaten a home made Pizza, you know what I’m talking about. I have had many Pizzas, home made, store bought, frozen, from restaurants, and the best Pizzas are the ones you make at home, no question. There are two reasons for this. One, you know what goes into it. Despite the many advertisements telling you what wonderful ingredients they use, pizza delivery companies are driven by one thing alone. The only thing I can guarantee is that they are using the cheapest ingredients they can find and if that’s your only concern, you end up with, well, a cheap pizza. Two, that extra indefinable something, the magic ingredient which is the secret to great food? YOU.

You are the magic ingredient and just the very act of picking the toppings yourself, taking the trouble to make the pizza in the first place and cooking it yourself makes all the difference. Your family will be able to taste the difference. It takes a little longer, it means going shopping rather than picking up the phone, but the extra effort is absolutely worth it. The sauce mix makes more than you will need for this recipe, but freezes well.Variations include adding mushrooms, ham, salami., pepperoni. That's what's great about home made pizza - you can add anything you like.

This serves 2

You will need:

Equipment:

• A saucepan
• A pizza stone or flat baking tray
• A sharp knife
• A cutting board
• A flat surface to roll the dough
• 2 small bowls
• 1 large bowl
• A whisk
• A sifter
• A mixer

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 8 oz plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried yeast
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3-4 fl oz hot water (no boiling)
• Olive oil

For the sauce:

• 2 table spoons olive oil
• 1 Spanish onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 cans tomatoes 14 oz
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 bayleaf
• Salt and pepper

For the topping:

• 4 oz Mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces
• 2 oz anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
• 12 Calamata olives, pitted and sliced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Parmesan cheese, grated

First, we will make the dough and leave to rise. Pour 3 oz of hot water into a bowl. Whisk in the sugar, then the yeast. Leave to one side until it becomes frothy. (About 15-20 minutes)

In a larger bowl, sift the flour and salt together. In another bowl, beat the egg. When the yeast mixture is frothy, add it to the flour, then add the egg and mix it all into a dough with your hands. When th dough is mixed, it should not be dry. If it is, add a little splash of water. Also, it should not stick to the bowl. If it does, add a little extra flour. Place the dough on a work surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it’s really smooth and elastic.

Put the dough back in the large bowl and rub all over with olive oil. Cover with a damp cloth. (Make sure it’s clean) and leave in a warm part of the room to rise. This should take about an hour. You can leave it for as long as 6 hours, so you can do this anytime. It will also keep in the fridge for a few days. If you do that, be sure to wrap it in Clingfilm. When it has doubled in size, knead again for about 5 minutes and roll out flat. Here is a simple video I found that shows the basics of making pizza dough. this recipe is a little different to mine, but the basic work is the same.

Now, to prepare the sauce. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the saucepan and fry the onion until soft, then stir in all the other ingredients and simmer gently without a lid on for about an hour. This will reduce the liquid to a thick paste. Remove from the heat and throw out the bay leaf. Let the sauce cool

When the dough has risen and the sauce has cooled, take the baking tin or pizza stone and brush with olive oil. Lay out the dough on the tin or stone. Make sure the edges of the pizza are a little raised so the sauce stays in the middle of the pizza. Preheat the oven to 425F. While the oven is heating, brush the top of the pizza with olive oil, and cover with the tomato sauce. Now add the toppings and leave the pizza to stand for about 15 minutes. When the oven is hot, bake the pizza for 15-20 minutes until the edges are becoming crispy. Serve immediately.

Buon Apetito!