Buffalo mozzarella, artichoke and lemon pizza - a great idea for the weekend

Mark Bittman is trying to convince people to make pizza at home and his argument is that not only is it budget-friendly but the pizza also tastes better – I have got to agree with the guy. :)
The last time I ordered pizza at my house was nearly 7 years ago and so far we haven’t missed it – actually, to be honest, the pizzas we ate at other people’s homes (because I am the only “crazy person” who makes them at home) cost a lot and/or weren’t all that in terms of flavor.

Here’s my pizza, if you’re interested in becoming a “crazy person” like me; I used to make Richard Bertinet's pizza dough (which is amazing) but since I am always pressed for time I’ve switched to Donna Hay's recipe: it is much faster and equally delicious.

Buffalo mozzarella, artichoke and lemon pizza
adapted from the wonderful Modern Classics (Book 1) and from the always delicious Donna Hay Magazine

Pizza dough:
1 teaspoon dried yeast
pinch of sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) lukewarm water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 ¾ cups + ½ tablespoon (250g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt

Topping:
1/3 cup tomato sauce (more if you like it)
200g buffalo mozzarella, coarsely grated
6-8 store-bought marinated artichoke hearts, drained and halved lengthwise
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
fresh basil leaves

Place the yeast and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the water and mix with a fork. Let stand for 2-3 minutes or until foamy. Add the olive oil, flour and salt and mix to combine. Transfer to a clean surface (no need to flour it) and knead until smooth and elastic – sprinkle with a little flour if necessary. Form dough into a ball. Lightly oil the same bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 250°C/480°F. With your hands, shape the dough into a rough circle and transfer to a large baking sheet*. Spread with the tomato sauce and cover with the mozzarella. Arrange the artichoke halves on top of the cheese, sprinkle with the lemon zest and bake until golden, 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil leaves and serve.

* I place the baking sheet in the oven for a good while before baking the pizza; then, I place the dough onto it when it’s really hot, spread the sauce and topping over it very quickly and put it back in the oven – it works really well (since I do not have a pizza stone) and the crust doesn’t get soggy

Serves 4 (at my house it serves 2). :)

Nigella's crustless pizza

I went to the movies the other day to watch "Immortals" just because of Tarsem Singh; his work is so visually unique and fantastic that even if I hadn’t known he was the director I would have guessed it just by watching the very first scene of the movie. I did not like “Immortals” that much – bad casting (except for the fabulous John Hurt) and bad script; but again, visually striking.

Now, tell me: crustless pizza – doesn’t it have “Nigella” written all over it? The recipe comes from the beautiful and delicious "Nigella Kitchen" and it’s very easy, tastes great and you can go wild with the toppings. Perfect quick meal.

Nigella's crustless pizza
from the marvelous "Nigella Kitchen"

1 egg
2/3 cup (94g) all-purpose flour
salt
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1 cup grated Cheddar – I used a different kind of cheese and it worked fine
5-6 chorizo or pepperoni slices, optional
dried oregano, to taste

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Butter a round ovenproof pie dish, 20 or 22cm (8 or 9 in) in diameter.
In a small bowl, beat the egg with the flour, salt, pepper (if using) and milk to make a smooth batter. Stir in half the grated cheese into the batter, then pour it into the prepared dish.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden around the edges. Take the dish out of the oven, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and add the chorizo or pepperoni, if using. Sprinkle with the oregano. Return the dish to the oven and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes to make sure the topping is heated through and the cheese is melted.
Serve, cut into slices (with a salad, if you wish).

Serves 2

Pizza

Last week I invited my father and my brother over for dinner. The menu was... homemade pizza!

I got the recipe from Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads - which is one of my favorite cookbooks. The photos are beautiful and I felt like running to the kitchen to prepare ALL the recipes the minute I started flipping through the book. There's a DVD included, which shows Richard Bertinet's way of preparing dough. I liked it a lot, too.

I got 3 big pizzas with the dough - each one around 30cm large.

I had already made this recipe before, but I used all purpose flour and had to add more flour to get it right (something against the author's technique). But this time I used a special bread flour that was released here in Brazil and it worked perfectly!

The idea of posting pictures of the entire preparation process was my husband's, who also worked as the photographer. :D

Pizza

510g bread flour
15g fresh yeast
2 teaspoons salt
360ml water, room temperature
62ml olive oil

Place the flour in a large bowl. Add the yeast and rub it with the flour using your fingertips. Add the salt, water and olive oil and mix until you have a mixture that resembles porridge.
You won't knead the dough the way you are used to - instead, you'll use your fingers as if they were "forks" and lift the dough, swing it upwards and then slap it back down, away from you, onto the counter. It will be sticky, but go ahead. Have no fear. :D
Stretch the front of the dough towards you, then lift it back over itself to form an arc - this will trap the air - still stretching it forwards and sideways and tucking it in around the edges. Repeat this sequence until the dough is not sticky anymore.
Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl, cover and let it rest for 70 minutes or overnight in the freezer, for better crust and taste - mine rose for 3 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 250ºC (475ºF)
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, shape into a ball and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the ball into three even parts.
Continue to work on an evenly floured surface so your dough won't stick to it.
Place the heel of your hand in the center of each ball and push it away from you to stretch the dough out. Keep stretching until you have a large round pizza - the book says 20-22cm, but mine were 30cm:

Spread some tomato sauce on the dough - I was inspired that day so I made my own tomato sauce:

Sprinkle with mozzarella, parmesan, basil leaves or whatever your imagination calls for - I made one with broccoli, olives, cheese and onions:

Slide the pizza to a pre-heated baking tray or stone and bake for 20 minutes or until the dough is cooked and golden. I don't have a baking stone and placed the pizza on cool baking trays, so it took my oven 40 minutes to bake them.

Makes 3 large pizzas