Fresh from the garden: rocket, thyme, oregano, marjoram, sage, parsley
Recipe source: adapted from a recipe by Stephanie Alexander in ‘Kitchen Garden Cooking With Kids’ ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
| Equipment:
For the pizza dough:
For the pizza topping:
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Ingredients:
For the pizza dough:
For the pizza topping:
Tomato sauce:
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What to do:
To make the dough:
- Place the water, yeast and sugar in the small bowl. Mix with the fork and leave for 5–10 minutes until the mixture looks frothy.
- Add the 2 teaspoons of oil to the yeast mixture and mix well.
- Place the flour and salt and yeast mixture in the bowl of the stand mixer and beat for at least 8 minutes, until the dough looks smooth.
- Brush the inside of a large bowl with a little of the extra virgin olive oil, using the pastry brush.
- Turn the pizza dough into the oiled bowl. Cover with a clean, dry tea towel and put in a draught-free place until the dough has doubled in size. This process, which is called ‘proving’, will take at least 1 hour.
What to do:
- Tip the risen dough onto the workbench and knead briefly, then shape it into a round ball and return it to the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with the tea towel and leave again, this time for at least 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C. You can prepare the topping now while you wait for the oven to heat up.
For the tomato sauce:
- Wash, dry and pick the leaves from the herbs.
- Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic.
- Heat most of the olive oil in the frying pan & gently cook the onion and garlic until translucent but not brown.
- Open the tin of tomato and add to the frying pan with a pinch of salt, a grind of pepper and the herbs.
- Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has reduced with minimal liquid.
For the topping:
- Peel the red onion, cut in half and finely slice into rings.
- Open the tub of bocconcini and cut or tear each ball into 3 or 4 pieces.
- Grate the parmesan.
- Wash and spin the rocket dry. Leaving small leaves whole, chop large leaves into ribbons.
Assembling the pizza:
- Scatter some flour on the workbench and roll to form a thin rectangle to fit the large baking tray.
- Assemble the pizza directly onto the tray, flouring the tray first.
- Using the metal spoon, swirl a couple of spoonfuls of tomato sauce onto the pizza base, spreading so that it becomes totally covered.
- Layer on the onion slices and then dab the bocconcini on top. Drizzle a little olive oil on, season well and slide it into the oven.
Baking the pizza:
- Bake the pizza for 15 minutes or until the edges are very crusty and the cheese is bubbling.
- Once the pizza is done, transfer it to a clean wooden chopping board using the wide egg lifter.
- Cut the pizza crossways into small squares, and lift onto serving plates.
- Sprinkle the grated parmesan onto the pizza and then add the rocket. Serve!
Notes: Where does pizza come from? What other sort of vegetables could you use in a pizza? What sort of other pizza could we make? What is pizza bianca?
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