Tag Archives: pizza base

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
~ Leonardo da Vinci

One of the quickest and easiest dinners to make, especially when you have a bunch of seemingly mismatched ingredients left in your fridge… they might just get along on a pizza base :-)

Instant gratification pizza
Recipe for pizza base adapted from KiwiWise

Ingredients:

For the base:
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil

Toppings:
Whatever you like – I used:
Olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red potato, thinly sliced then diced
2 button mushrooms, sliced
3 slices salami, quartered
1/3 tomato, thinly sliced
Loose handful of baby spinach leaves
Feta cheese, diced
Black pepper
Dried oregano
Tomato paste

Method:
For the base:
Combine the water and sugar in a small bowl, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Cover the bowl loosely with a tea towel and leave for 15 minutes until frothy.

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle, add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and combine.

Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it until it is smooth and elastic (if sticky, add a little extra flour). Shape it into a ball and place it into a greased bowl. Leave covered in a warm place until the ball doubles in size (approximately 40 minutes). Punch down the dough and knead it lightly. Set it aside.

Cooking:
Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease a baking tray.

In a skillet, heat approximately 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat, then throw in the onions. Sauté for 1-2 minutes before adding in the potato and garlic. Fry the mixture for around 3 minutes, till partially cooked and the potato edges start to go a tiny bit brown. Add in the mushrooms and cook for a further minute. Do not overcook anything – it will cook further in the oven. Remove from the heat.

Roll out the pizza base with a rolling pin or suitable substitute (I used a drinking glass), then spread it with a thin, even layer of tomato paste.

Add the spinach leaves, potato mix, salami, tomatoes and feta (or toppings of your choice). Sprinkle with dried oregano and a generous amount of black pepper.

Bake pizza for 15 minutes, or until the base is golden brown and your pizza looks ripe for eating! Serve immediately.

Yields 2-3 servings.