FOODWTF - Pizza

Basic pizza recipe time! This is how I've always made it. Had it tonight and it was tolerably lush.

This recipe will spawn two very good-sized pizzas. I have to wade through leftovers now when I open the fridge.



Did you know if you Google "waders" you get naked chicks? (Presumably, therefore, if you Google "naked chicks" you get fishermen in waders. Ah, symmetry.)

Dough:
3 1/2 cups of plain flour
1 1/2 cups of water
2 heaped teaspoons of yeast
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt

Tomato base:
800g tin of tomatoes (or thereabouts) (or the equivalent of fresh tomatoes if you're fancy)
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
sprigs of parsley
springs of fresh oregano, or a teaspoon of dried
large tablespoon tomato paste
bay leaf
salt
brown sugar

Toppings:
mushroom
sun-dried tomatoes
olives
feta
parmesan (grated)
cheddar or mozzarella (also grated)
other nice stuff. Use your imagination (which is probably not grated)



Make the crust! Mix the dough ingredients together. Don't bother with putting the yeast in warm water with sugar or anything - just chuck it all artlessly together. Knead it on a lightly floured surface until it's smooth - about ten minutes. If you get sore elbows, take your mind off them by making rude shapes out of the dough for a while. You know you're never too old to fashion a kneaded knob. Or a pair of bready balls. Etc.

Splash a tiny bit of oil in a bowl for the dough to rise in, covered with a tea towel. Put it in a warm place for about an hour (until it's doubled in size).

You can use a bread machine to knead and rise (raise?) it if you have particularly dainty elbows. I definitely didn't use one and then pretend I hadn't for the purposes of the blog; I would never make a mockery of truth and goodness by taking the short cut then callously instructing you to knead.

Oh, it's only pizza dough. Stick it in the machine if you have one. Get some perspective.

(Are these the warning signs of a nervous breakdown?)

While it's rising, make the sauce.

Yep, that's sauce, all right. Dice the onions, crush the garlic and chop the herbs very finely. Sautee them together til the onion's transparent. Add the tomato paste. Add everything else. Simmer, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust. Take it off the heat. Around this point, preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

You can also use pesto instead of this tomato sauce - this too is acceptably delicious. Very nice with mushrooms.

Toppings!



Separate your dough into two halves. Lightly oil two baking trays. Spread the dough with your greedy little fingers to fill the tray in a thin layer. Spread with the tomato sauce. Heap on your chosen toppings. Cheese last. Bake for about half an hour, or until the cheese is golden and the base is cooked.




Watch some Boosh. Stronger than a moose!

Eat!




In related news, I just found a bit of onion in my hair.

In unrelated news, meet my new nemeses!

I just lost a filling to one of these minty monsters!