Homemade Pizza

Most people like pizza. There’s so many options for toppings and flavours. Almost everyone can find something they like. Some crazy fools even substitute the traditional tomato sauce for barbeque sauce! Weirdos!

I suppose that’s a great reason for making your own pizza: you have complete control over everything – how crispy the base is and what kind of toppings to use.

If the thought of making your own dough puts you off there are easy ways to cheat. You can buy pre-made pizza bases in the supermarket, although in my experience they don’t taste great, or buy a packet of pizza dough. This stuff is great because you just need to add water and kneed it into shape.

My favourite pizza toppings are all the classics: finely chopped onions, peppers, tomatoes, olives and chillis, of course. A nice bit of cheddar, parmesan and fresh mozzarella add the cheese-factor.

Ingredients

For the sauce
passata (sieved tomatoes)
a handful of chopped basil leaves
a handful of chopped oregano leaves
a sprinkle of salt & pepper

For the dough
a packet of pizza dough
warm water

For the toppings
anything you fancy! I used:
1 red onion
1 green pepper
2 red chillis
a few black olives
a few cherry tomatoes
sliced mozzarella
grated cheddar
grated parmesan

Method

Follow the instructions on your packet of pizza dough. Remember to leave it to rise for about 20 minutes. If you feel brave then have a go at tossing your pizza. If not, get your other half to do it for you (so if he drops if you can blame him!)

Pour the passata into a saucepan and warm it up (don’t boil it). Add the basil, oregano and salt & pepper. Stir the sauce while gently warming it. If you think it needs thickening up add a small amount of tomato paste.

You may want to pre-cook your pizza base a small amount before adding any sauce or toppings. I put mine in the oven for about 5 minutes on 220 degrees. This helps it to crisp up a bit so that the sauce doesn’t make it too soggy.

Spread the sauce over the pizza base. Sprinkle your chosen toppings on to the pizza. Place in the oven for around 20 minutes at 220 degrees.