‘Old things are better than new things because they have memories attached’

Do any of you remember this recipe from Stirring Stuff Cookery School days?  I lose count of the number of times we taught youngsters how to weigh , mix and stir these ingredients in our children’s classes and parties. Happy chatter, flour everywhere, and the excited anticipation, as they rolled and then finished the cooking pizza bases with their  favourite toppings.    So easy to make and always a firm favourite. It still is –  judging by the time it took my captive tasters here to demolish an extra large pizza piled high with feta, tuna and olives!  The perfect accompaniment to a family  ‘at-home’ film evening.

Keep Safe and Keep Well

Frying Pan Pizza with Tuna and Feta Topping

The basic version of this is a traditional tomato sauce and cheese topping. In the cookery school we had a selection of salami’s, ham and sliced tomato and the youngsters could personalise their teams pizzas.  That’s joy of it – make it personal  and  use up leftovers from the fridge.

Serves 3-4

Pizza base

225g self-raising flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

150ml warm water

Tomato sauce

200g tin chopped tomatoes or a jar of tomato passata

2 spring-onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup

several leaves fresh basil, shredded

1 tablespoon olive oil for cooking

a pinch of sugar, Salt and pepper for seasoning

Feta and Tuna Topping

130g strong cheddar cheese, grated

100g feta cheese, crumbled

50-60g tinned tuna fish, drained

10 pitted black olives, sliced

several leaves fresh basil, shredded

or selected toppings of your choice – salami, cooked sausage, fresh sliced tomatoes, ham and grated cheese – cheddar or mozzarella, sliced, sautéed mushrooms, sliced olives.

Method

Heat the oven to 200c/gas 6

Tomato sauce.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the diced onion and sweat without browning over a medium heat until soft. Add the crushed garlic and heat for a further minute. Add the tinned tomatoes and seasoning. Simmer without the lid over a low heat for whilst you prepare the topping.

Pizza Base

This is basically a scone dough.

Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Add the oil to the warm water.

Make a well in the centre of your flour and add the oil and water mix all in one go. Mix quickly, at first with a spoon or a kitchen knife, working the flour into the liquid.

Watchpoint –  don’t overwork the dough at this stage or it will get sticky and difficult to work with.  once most of the flour is worked into the dough use clean hands to  form it into  a neat ball.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently roll into a 25cm circle  – this  should be the size of your frying pan.  If the dough has got a bit sticky do this by gently pressing it into shape with well floured hands.

Heat the oil in the frying pan over a moderate heat. Add the dough base and cook for 5-6 minutes or until it turns a golden brown underneath. The base will gently rise as it cooks.

While the base is cooking spoon over the prepared sauce and scatter or mound over the toppings of your choice.

Once the base of the pizza is golden place the skillet into the preheated oven for a further 6-8 minutes to fully cook the dough and allow the cheese to turn a delicious golden colour. It should  be bubbling sumptuously around the edges.

Remove the pan from the oven using oven gloves and  with GREAT CARE  – Please don’t forget that the pan handle will be very hot!

To serve, carefully slide the pizza onto a board or serving plate and slice with a pizza roller or a large knife.   We served ours with a simple lettuce and avocado salad dressed with a spritz of lemon juice.

Other recipes that you might enjoy:

Pissaladière

Wild Garlic Pesto Pull Bread

Happy Cooking