Pizza

 

One from before Christmas here... sorry for the delay!

 

Evan really loves pizza, and we tend to have it when we need a quick, no-fuss tea.  However when Megan came along and started her feeding adventure, I had to think again.  Of course frozen pizzas are far too processed and salty for a small baby, so I've been making my own. No, this doesn't please Evan, who would rather have an el cheapo Margarita from the freezer!  He gets very excited when I say it's pizza for tea, then his face falls when he sees me making it... "Oh, Mummy, I don't want homemade!" 

 

 At least Megan and Daddy appreciate my efforts, and as they say, 2 out of 3 ain't bad! 

 

I started with Delia Smith's scone pizza recipe, which is really easy and super-quick.  You just sift 4oz self-raising flour into a bowl, then add 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Rub in 25g margarine (or I sometimes use butter).  Mix together 2 tbsp milk and 2 tbsp water, and add gradually, to make a soft dough (you may not need all the liquid).  Now, at this point Delia instructs you to roll the dough into a circle.  I don't even bother with that part - instead, I just plonk the dough on a baking tray, and spread it with my hands until it fills it about evenly.  I will add that this recipe makes a fairly small pizza, and we tend to double or even treble the recipe for the 4 of us (perhaps we're just greedy!)

 

This is the pizza sauce recipe I tend to use... http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/3634463--Ultimate-Pizza-Sauce.  It does take a bit of time, but I usually make a large batch and divide it between freezer bags. 

 

Now to Rachel's pizzas!  Yes, they do take a bit more time but are well worth it - they look, and taste, just like an authentic Italian pizza.  They're topped with a fantastic roasted tomato sauce, which is really rich - sort of reminded me of Heinz tomato soup!  I don't really like using tomatoes out of season, but over the summer I'm going to try and make plenty and freeze it.  It will be great to have that summery flavour all winter long!  Rachel gives several ideas for additional toppings - I tried Gruyere cheese, thyme, roasted red onions, chorizo and goats' cheese.  Seriously delicious, although of course, not appreciated by Evan!  The great thing about making these however, is that they're supposed to prepared as individual portions.  So, everybody can choose their own topping, and all are happy!