Pizza and a Movie?

Home made pizza is such a joy. I really enjoy making pizza. I find it quite therapeutic. Making the dough, preparing all the toppings and then placing them on the pizza to your own taste.

I usually make roasted vegetable pizza, and I use passata to make the pizza sauce. I find passata makes a lovely thick sauce as it has very little water in it, as opposed to a can of tomatoes. I have to say the last one I made was really tasty. Now in this recipe I haven't made the pizza dough from scratch. I used a 'just add water' mix. I think that is fine and I still categorise this has being home made.

So here is my recipe for you to try:

Ingredients

3/4 carton of Passata
1 clove of garlic (made into a paste)
Good handful of basil leaves (torn)
1 pack of pizza base
some water

Toppings

1 large aubergine
2 courgette
2 red or green peppers
1/2 red onion (sauteed)
Sweetcorn kernels (boiled if cut from cob)
Pineapple chunks (optional..American Vegetarian loves pineapple on pizza)
Jalapeno peppers (chopped)
Mozzarella
Some olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste.

Method

Pre heat oven to 190 C. Cut the aubergine into discs, the courgettes in half and then sliced length ways, and the peppers deseeded and cut into quarters. Put them in a bowl and season with salt and pepper and olive oil. Then layer them on a baking try and roast for about 30-40 minutes, turning half way.

While this is happening, you can make your pizza sauce. Peel and chop the garlic then with the back of a knife just keep crushing the garlic so it becomes paste like. Heat some olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and the torn basil leaves and fry for about 1 minute then add the passata sauce. Cook on a medium heat for about 20 minutes until the sauce has become the consistency you require. In another pan heat some olive oil and fry off the onion for about 8 minutes until they become soft and translucent, then set aside.

Now make the pizza base according to the packet instructions. Usually you just add 4fl oz of water, and make into a soft dough then need for about 5 minutes. Then roll out the pizza base in either a traditional circle or as I did a rectangle. You get a bigger pizza plus it fits my baking tray perfectly.

Once you have all your other toppings prepared. Spread the pizza sauce on the pizza base and then get the aubergine, courgette and peppers and tear them and place evenly on the pizza, then add the sweetcorn, onions, jalapenos, pineapple (optional), and finally tear the mozzarella and dot around the pizza. Cook in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the pizza is cooked.

Some handy tips; if you find the pizza base not as crispy as you would like, then before you put the toppings on just bake the base for about 5 min's beforehand. I didn't have to do this, as the baking tray I used had holes in it, so the base was nice and crispy.

Grab a mate or partner, a DVD and bottle of wine and enjoy a great Friday night in!