Cheaper Pizza

Thanks for this recipe must go to the lovely Thelma, at the Wellspring Healthy Living Centre, who has been teaching me to cook proper food.

Anyway, the point about this recipe is that it is incredibly cheap, compared to take-away or home-delivered varieties of pizza. What's more, given this basic recipe, you can experiment to your heart's content with different cheeses, different flours in the base, and, of course, different toppings. Results are limited only by your own creativity!

So, here's the deal, for one adult serving:

Pizza Base

Equipment
Kitchen scales
Large mixing bowl
Working surface
Rolling Pin

Ingredients
100g Plain Flour, plus extra for dusting
Warm water
Pinch of salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp dried yeast

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C

Mix the dry ingredients in your bowl, and add the oil. Then, make a well in the centre and add warm water, trickle by trickle, mixing the ingredients thoroughly with a knife or spatula. The temperature of the water is important - too cold or too hot and the yeast won't happen for you. Once the ingredients are combined, start to work the dough with your fingers, and then knead until all the dough is taken up into a soft, elastic, round ball. At this point, you can relax for a bit, and let the dough rise for 15mins.

The dough should have doubled in size by this time, and the next task is to dust your work surface with the extra flour, and roll out the dough into a flat disc about 1/4 of an inch thick. Prick all over with a fork, so it doesn't puff up in the oven, and then slam it in to pre-bake for 5 mins.

Pizza topping.

Equipment
Medium Saucepan
1 Cooker ring
Hand blender
Can opener
Garlic Press
Cheese grater

Ingredients
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 finely chopped medium onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp mixed herbs
80g grated cheddar cheese

Method.

Fry the onions and garlic gently. When soft, add the tomatoes and herbs. Simmer till reduced. Blitz with a hand blender until you have a texture that pleases you, and simmer some more if it's still too liquid.

Then spoon onto your pizza base, cover with grated cheese, and bake for 20 mins at the top of the oven.

Now, go and spend the money you saved on a bottle of Italian wine, and enjoy...

Best wishes, 2ndRateMind.

The Wellspring: http://www.wellspringhlc.org/

Napolitana Sauce

This is the obvious next sauce to consider; tomatoes and onions. Normally I recommend fresh ingredients, but tomatoes are the exception that proves the rule. You just don't get the gutsy flavour required out of the insipid supermarket offerings, which are bred for looks and shelf-life. Unless you have access to homegrown varieties selected for taste, use tinned tomatoes, and don't be ashamed of doing so. Anyway, here's the recipe:

Equipment:

Medium saucepan
Chopping board
Cooking knife
Garlic press
Cooker (1 ring required)
Can opener

Ingredients - serves 2

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium onions
3 cloves of garlic
2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons fresh basil
seasoning to taste

unauthentic optional extra - a good dash of worcestershire sauce.

Method

As you would expect. The onions go chopped into the oil, and fry gently in the pan for a few minutes. They are followed by the garlic, tomatoes and herbs, and the whole lot is simmered for about half an hour, until the tomatoes are cooked and the consistency quite thick. Then, pour over your favourite pasta, or use as a base sauce for pizza topping, or as a layer in lasagne.

Best wishes, 2ndRateMind.

Incidentally, I have it on good authority that the Italians always bring the pasta to the sauce, rather than the sauce to the pasta. Well, that's foreigners for you. They don't even know how to serve their own cuisine.