Pizza expressed three ways

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You can either make the dough from scratch for this pizza, which takes no time at all, or for an even speedier method, buy soft tortillas and use these as a base for the pizza instead of making your own.

Ingredients

For the pizza dough

• 300g/11oz strong bread flour, plus a little extra for dusting
• 1 x 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 1½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the harissa, chilli, sausage and rocket topping

• 2 spring onions
• 1 red chilli (optional)
• 2 fat sausages
• 2 tsp fennel seed
• 2 tbsp harissa paste (found in most supermarkets)
• a handful of wild rocket
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the goats’ cheese, sweet pepper and chorizo topping

• 50ml/1¾fl oz passata
• 50g/1¾oz peppadew peppers (these are available from most supermarkets, near the capers and vinegars!)
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 garlic clove
• 75g/3oz goats’ cheese
• 10 chorizo slices
• extra virgin olive oil
• small handful of fresh basil leaves
• salt and pepper

For the feta, hummus and zucchini topping

• 100g/3½oz hummus
• 100g/3½oz feta cheese
• ½ small courgette
• 6 cherry tomatoes
• salt and pepper
• drizzle of balsamic glaze (available in the supermarket)
• extra virgin olive oil
• small handful of mint leaves

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 9.
2. Put the flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and add the oil and 175ml/6fl oz of warm (but not too hot) tap water. Then mix it all together with a wooden spoon to form a soft slightly sticky ball.
3. At this stage I like to get my hands into the bowl and squidge everything together. Then throw a little flour on the work surface and knead the dough for eight minutes by hand (or four minutes in a free standing mixer fitted with a dough hook).
4. Then divide the dough into three equal(ish) pieces and then use a rolling pin to roll each one out into roughly a 14x40cm/5x15in rectangle. It will be really nice and thin. Put each rectangle on a baking sheet and cover with a clean tea towel or some oiled cling film so they not dry out while you prepare the toppings (or for at least 10 minutes).
5. For the harissa, chilli, sausage and rocket topping, trim and finely slice the spring onions (green and white bit) and halve, deseed and finely slice the red chilli (if using) and set aside.
6. Snip the skin of the sausages and then peel it off or squeeze the sausage meat out. Break the sausage meat into small pieces.
7. Spread the harissa paste all over the pizza base. I like to leave a 1cm/½in border for aesthetic purposes only! Scatter the onions, chilli, sausage meat and fennel seeds over and season with a little salt and pepper.
8. For the goats’ cheese, sweet pepper and chorizo topping, put the passata and peppadew peppers in a blender. Run your fingers down the length of the thyme sprigs to release their leaves, peel the garlic and add both to the blender also. Blitz until smooth and then spread over the pizza base, leaving a 1cm/½in border.
9. Break the goats’ cheese into small pieces and scatter over the pizza base along with the chorizo slices.
10. For the feta, hummus and zucchini topping, spread the hummus over the base of the pizza and crumble the feta on top. Use a vegetable peeler to slice the courgette into long thin strips. Keep going until all is used up and arrange these over also. Halve the tomatoes, scatter them over, and season.
11. When you have topped the pizzas, bake each one in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until crispy and the sausage on the harissa, chilli and sausage pizza is cooked.
12. Once cooked, scatter the rocket over the harissa, chilli and sausage pizza. Scatter the basil leaves over the cooked goats’ cheese pizza and drizzle with a little oil. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the feta pizza with a good drizzle of olive oil, then scatter over the mint leaves. Serve the pizzas immediately.

Categories: Pizza