Thursday, June 1, 2006

MY MAMMOTH PIZZA

Like most of you, I love pizza and could eat it on a weekly basis. It is one of those classics that kids and grownups enjoy alike and are never tired of it's fulfilling and satisfactionary taste!...

But, when I make my own pizza, it generally ends up in an orgy as it tends to take IMMENSE proportions and could be called as a "monolithic pizza"!!!

You see, I love my pizzas to be very tasty and very generous, so I pile up as much as possible. It means that I have to cover my pizza with as many different ingredients as it can take!...

Of course, this can lead to problems like the overflowing cheese running out everywhere, the oven getting dirty and a bad black smoke invading my kitchen!!!

But, this time I was very happy. I didn't go wild and overmake my pizza, so everything went for the best. In fact, this very pizza was my most successful so far. It was super-tasty, their was enough garnishing to please my greedy self, the bread dough was fabulously crusty and the overall look of it was very pleasant...

Needless to say that we were in food paradise!........

Makes enough for 2-4 people

Ingredients:
One quantity pizza dough (see recipe)
One quantity quick tomato sauce (see recipe)
1 Tin (230g) sliced Parisian button mushrooms (drained)
200g Ham, sliced
300-350g Mozarella, sliced
60-100g Gruyère cheese, grated
1/2-2/3 Red or green bell pepper, thinly sliced
30g Anchovy fillets (from a tin and without the oil)
4-5 Tbs Capers
5-6 Tbs Green olives, pitted and halved
Herbs/Italian herb seasoning of your choice or fresh basil

Method:
1. Roll out the dough in order to get a 26-30cm (10-12 inches) round.
2. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchement paper for non-stick baking.
3. Spread the tomato sauce.
4. Cover with the mushrooms, then the ham, the mozarella and Gruyère, the bell-pepper, the anchovies, capers, olives and herbs.
5. Bake in preheated oven at 220°C (440°F) for about 40 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the crust is baked through.
6. Serve hot.

Remarks:
Once the dough has been rolled out and that you have spread the tomato sauce, you are free to place all the ingredients in the order you wish.
If you don't have any Gruyère cheese underhand, then any other similar cheese (quite strong, salty and medium hard) is fine as long as it contrasts with the mildness of the Mozarella.

Serving suggestions:
Sprinkle your slice of pizza with virgin olive oil, pepper and red Tabasco, if desired. As accompaniment, a salad is ideal.

(Mozarella -Pic by www.hormel.com)

8 comments:

  1. jolie pizza .BON WEEK END

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  2. Capers? I love the sound of that! What a great idea!

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  3. COLETTE: Merci à toi! Bon weekend!!!

    ROSA: It's very fine with capers, so I recommend you to try that next time you make pizza!

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  4. I LOVE your pizza!!!!!!!

    Paz

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  5. Now THAT'S a Pizza!!. Too bad my husband doesn't like anchovies - it's one of my favorite things and unless I make 2 smaller/different pizzas, I don't add anchovies.

    A tip to save you oven- I use a lipped baking tray to catch all the dripping juices and cheeses.

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  6. mmm,une belle pizza aux légumes!!

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