Resolutions. Kisses. Taylor Swift albums.
There are many wonderful things that can happen at midnight, but for the past few years, for me it has been pizza. It so happens that New Year’s Day is my birthday (worst birthday ever, I know) and to commemorate/commiserate my looming mid-thirties, I decided it had to be with pizza and Prosecco. Not a pizza at the end of the phone or at the back of the supermarket, but with one I can make easily at home.
It asks nothing more of you than mixing some ingredients in a bowl and covering it. Within a few hours, and with little tinkering in between, you have a puffed-up base ready to be covered to your liking, cooked, and devoured.
I’ve itemised my personal favourite toppings, and you could add whatever you want (just don’t tell me if you add pineapple) but I like to keep mine as simple as possible. That way, I have time to focus on what matters – just how easy it is to be enjoying a thick slice of pizza, Prosecco in hand, counting down to slowly becoming middle aged. I’m not that miserable about it… I promise…
Makes 1 pizza that serves 6 – 8
For the dough base
1 packet instant dry yeast
12 tablespoons olive oil + extra for tin greasing
500ml warm water
700g plain flour + extra for counter space
2 teaspoons salt
For the sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
680 – 700g passata
My preferred toppings
As much pepperoni as I can fit on the base
2 balls mozzarella
Handful of torn basil
A sprinkling of dried oregano and dried chilli flakes
- In a large bowl, fork together the yeast, olive oil, and warm water until the yeast dissolves, and then gradually spoon in the flour with the salt bit by bit and combine to form a scruffy mess. It won’t be neat and elastic just yet, and you’ll think it’s too wet, but it’s not. Trust the process. Cover the bowl tightly (I use a shower cap) and let sit in a warmish place (like an airing cupboard) for an hour or so.
- When it’s doubled in size, sprinkle the extra flour on your counter space and tip the dough on top. Lazily knead it a few times (it will be sticky, but don’t worry) until the dough stiffens slightly and is smooth-ish. Pour a little olive in your hands and grease the dough, put back into the bowl, cover, and hide for another hour or so until it doubles in size again.
- In this time make your sauce, which is a simple affair of heating the olive oil in a small pot on a medium heat and grating in the garlic cloves. When the garlic is hot and sizzling but not brown, add the dried oregano and passata with a little salt and pepper. Bring the pan to a bubble, drop the heat to low, and keep it simmering for the rest of the dough’s rising time, and then turn off the heat.
- Now you can either cook the dough in one large roasting tray (say 41 x 32 cm) or across two smaller ones, keeping in mind this is a fluffy almost focaccia-ey style pizza, not a thin a crispy one, so the smaller and higher the pan, the taller and cakier the pizza will be. Not a terrible thing of course, but something to keep in mind. Whichever way you go, drizzle some olive oil into your tray and grease until well coated.
- Take the dough from its hiding place and place into the tray or trays. Using your hands, stretch and coax the dough to fill the tray as best as you can. It won’t fill the tray entirely, but don’t worry, it expands. Drizzle more olive oil on top of the dough, cover (just with a tea towel is fine this time) and pop back to the hiding place for another hour. In this time, preheat the oven to 220°C.
- After the hour is up, take your tray and by now the dough should be puffy and proud. With your fingertips, poke some dimples into the dough, which will create nice little bubbles and pockets for your sauce.
- Spoon the sauce evenly across the dough, leaving a slight border for necessary crust, and then put anything you fancy on top. Torn up mozzarella, slices of salami, thinly cut mushrooms, sliced onion, anchovies, red peppers, olives… you get the idea.
- Bake in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes until the crust is golden brown, maybe even with some gorgeous, charred spots. Let cool in the tin for about 10 minutes just so that the dough can set slightly, and so that you don’t scald the roof of your mouth like I always do.
- Slice, eat, and enjoy. And to any other millennial celebrating a birthday in January, pour yourself a Prosecco and have another slice for both of us. We earned it.
MIKEY AND THE KITCHEN. 