This pizza is big, packed full of toppings and incredibly delicious. It makes a fabulous meal to share and is equally tasty cold. It requires surprisingly little effort and is a great thing to cook on a lazy weekend. There are a couple of key things that you must know before embarking on the recipe. Firstly, it is key to get a 10-inch wide, 1.5-inch high tart tin with a removable base. This will give the pizza the structure you want. Secondly it's very important to cook the tomato sauce nice and slow, as it will stop it being bitter and reduce it to the required thickness.
Ingredients
Dough
450g/ 1lb plain flour
1tsp salt
1tsp caster sugar
2 x 7g fast action dried yeast
300ml/ ½ pint warm water
2tbsps olive oil
Toppings
1 tin of chopped plum tomatoes
2 tspns dried oregano
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
100g ham hock, torn into small pieces
6-8 chestnut mushrooms cut into 1/6ths
1 ball of mozzarella
Olive oil
Honey Mustard Drizzle
1tbsp honey
1tbsp whole grain mustard
Prep
1.Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water. Give it a quick stir and leave, covered with a tea towel, in a warm place for 5 minutes. This should activate the yeast and get the process started.
2.Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Once the yeast is ready (it should be frothy) add the liquid and oil to the flour. Work to a soft dough using your hand. Add more water if dry, or flour if sticky.
3.Chuck onto a floured flat surface. Knead for 10 minutes until soft and elastic. Got a machine with a dough hook? Knead for 8 minutes. The finished result should feel smooth to the touch and not too sticky.
4.Round the dough into a ball and place into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with a tea towel. Leave to double in size in a warm place. It will take around 1 hour but check regularly.
5.While the dough is rising, start with the sauce. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan add 1tpsn of olive oil. Place the pan onto a gentle heat and add the crushed garlic. Sweat very gently, avoiding coloring the garlic. After a couple of minutes add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, 1 tspn of sugar, a large pinch of salt and some black pepper. Cook gently, uncovered, until it's required for use (about 40 minutes).
6.Preheat your oven to 200c fan/220c conventional. Prepare your tart tin by lightly oiling it. It's also good to get your other toppings ready to go, before the dough is ready.
7.Now the dough has doubled in size, remove from the bowl and place onto a large floured board/ surface. Knead again for 2 minutes. Now form the dough into a ball and begin to press it to form a larger, flatter circle. You can use your hands or a rolling pin until you get to a size where the dough is around a cm thick and will cover the tart tin base and sides.
8.It's time to put the fillings in. Start by spreading the sauce onto the base evenly. Then add the ham hock and mushrooms, followed by the slices of mozzarella.
Cook
9.Place the pizza into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the dough is cooked through. The dough should have slightly come away from the tin. Check regularly to make sure the crust isn't getting too dark - should this be happening then place some baking paper or foil loosely over the top.
10.While you are waiting for the pizza to cook, quickly make the drizzle by combining the mustard and honey - add more of either to taste.
Plate
11.Once the pizza has cooked, remove and place on to a cake stand. Leave to settle for a couple of minutes. Run a knife round the edge of the tin to make sure it is loose. Sit the tin on a narrow bowl and the edge of the tin should come off with some gentle encouragement. Ease the pizza off the base using a spatula and place onto a board. Drizzle with the mustard honey sauce and serve! This is a knife and fork job.
