Plant a Pizza

 garden2kitchen ‘planted a pizza’ at Regional Flavours held at South Bank, Brisbane. In  its fourth year the event showcases over 100 of Queenslands food and wine producers from 13 growing regions.

We made pizza dough and packed it full of goodness from the garden. The pizzas were herb heavy with roasted and char grilled veges, potato, leeks, salsa verde and pesto. The Regional Flavours crew were brilliant and our chefs in the prep kitchen, Andy & Shawn were fabulous.

If you have never made pizza dough before, have a go, it is easy and fun. Get the kids involved they love getting their hands in the dough and don’t worry about the mess, thats all part of the joy of making pizzas. As far as toppings go there are no rules but here are a few suggestions. Enjoy!

1kg Italian type 00 flour

2 x 7g sachets dried instant yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

pinch salt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

 Combine dried yeast and sugar with 21/2 cups-3 cups warm water in a bowl and rest in warm place for 5 minutes or until the yeast bubbles.

Place flour and salt in a mound on a clean work surface and make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture and olive oil and bring the dough together working until flour is combined. Form dough into a ball and knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place into a bowl and sprinkle over some extra virgin olive oil and cover with a cloth so it doesn’t dry out and stand in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down and roll into 6 small balls and set aside covered for another hour.

Preheat oven to 240C

Using a rolling pin, roll out into 1cm thick rounds and place onto lightly oiled baking trays or sprinkle with polenta.

 

BASES

Make a delicious tomato sauce base by heating a large non-stick frying pan on the heat and pour in 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add 4 cloves of crushed garlic, 6 anchovies finely chopped. Once the garlic begins to colour lightly, add a 2 tablespoons of fresh oregano, a tablespoon of Italian dried herbs, and a kilo of tomatoes, deseeded and skinned and chopped or you can use 2 cans of diced Italian tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. As soon as it comes to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring occassionally. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.

Salsa Verde

2 firmly-packed cups flat-leaf parsley leaves

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons capers in brine, rinsed

7 anchovy fillets (see notes)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.

Toppings

• Cover base with homemade tomato sauce and top with chargrilled eggplant and zucchini, roasted peeled and diced pumpkin, favourite pesto and crumbled feta and cook pizza for 15 minutes.

• Roast peeled diced pumpkin, red & yellow capsicum, deseeded and sliced, sliced red onion with a splash of balsamic for 30 minutes in a 180C oven until softened. Top with crumbled feta, sprinkle of grated mozzarella and bake for 15 minutes or until pizza dough is crispy.

• Saute 2 bunches of English spinach in a little bit of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add a pinch of ground coriander, ground cumin, finely chopped  preserved lemon and a tablespoon of toasted pine nut. Smother some tomato sauce on base and  top with spinach, crumbled fetta and cherry tomatoes halved .

• Spread your base with salsa verde and top with 2 leeks sauteed and thinly sliced potatoes. Cook for 15 minutes or until potato is cooked.

TIP: scatter some polenta onto baking trays to prevent dough from sticking