Fajita Pizza

Before I went off to university I couldn’t cook. At all. Mum was worried (quite understandably!) that I might starve so decided it would be best if she gave me a crash course in a few dishes. One of these dinners was fajitas. Simple, quick and yummy, it soon became my favourite (and my staple)… I became known for them. Not because I was an amazing fajita chef, but because I ate them a lot! Nowadays I have much more of a balanced diet, but I thought a pizza to pay homage to my time at university (which undoubtedly kick-started my love of cooking!) was only right, so here it is.

To make the base for this pizza, please click here.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

2 peppers

2 red onions

½ tsp paprika

120g cheddar cheese

350g salsa

A drizzling of guacamole and sour cream

Method:

1. As is only right for this pizza considering the history I have with fajitas, this is a really simple one to make. So, while the bases are proving in the oven, prepare the topping.
2. Slice the peppers and onions into delicate strips, along with the chicken breasts. Fry these ingredients together with ½ tsp of paprika for that authentic Mexican flavour. Obviously more can be added if you’re comfortable with spicy food. However, for me, a korma is pushing my limits so I always tend to err on the side of caution!
3. When the bases have finished proving, remove them and turn the oven to 210°C so that it has time to warm up.
4. Spread the salsa evenly over each base and top with the fajita filling mix of chicken, peppers and onion.
5. Grate over approximately 120g of cheddar and cook in the oven for 10 minutes.
6. When they’re out, the guacamole and sour cream can be drizzled over as a finishing touch.
7. Buon appetito! 

Sausage, Cabbage and Apple Pizza

Unlike my other pizza recipes which all have a little bit of a back story, this one came about a bit more off the cuff as it were. It was mid-week and I was struggling to come up with a pizza topping for Saturday. So I decided to just sit down, put pen to paper, and write down a list of random ingredients I liked, or hadn’t had for a while… and below is the result. I hope you find it to be at least semi-successful!

To make the base for this pizza, please click here.

Ingredients:

4 sausages

140g cabbage

2 apples

525g sweet potato

1 red onion

2 handfuls walnuts

125g camembert

Method:

1. While the dough is proving in the oven, the topping can be prepared.
2. For the base, I’ve found mashed sweet potato to be a great alternative to the generic tomato purée. To do this, peel and chop the potatoes and then boil until tender. Drain and crush using a potato masher and put to one side.
3. Next, fry the sausages according to their cooking instructions and leave to cool.
4. Shred the cabbage and chop the onion. These can be fried together – saves on the washing up!
5. By now, the sausages could be cool enough to handle so cut these into chunks.
6. Grate the apples and roughly the walnuts.
7. When the bases have finished proving, take them out the oven and turn the heat up to 210°C.
8. Spread the mashed sweet potato and evenly distribute the fried cabbage and onion.
9. Next, top with the grated apple and sausage chunks.
10. Sprinkle over the walnut pieces and dot over pieces of camembert.
11. Bake for 10 minutes.
12. Buon appetito!

A Summer Sizzler

It’s June, meaning summer has finally arrived! Although the weather outside tells a different story... it’s cold, raining and miserable – nothing new there. But, the forecasts promise a beautiful weekend, so to celebrate; I thought it was only right to post a pizza recipe fit enough for a picnic in the park.

To make the base for this pizza, please click here.

Ingredients:

110g asparagus

150g peas

½ cucumber portion

180g garlic and herb soft cheese

Method:

1. When the bases have finished proving and you’ve taken them out, turn the oven to 210°C.
2. Like with my Asian-inspired recipe, this pizza is slightly different as I’ve found that with the toppings I’m using, it’s actually better cold. When the oven has reached the required temperature, bake the bases (with no topping) for 10 minutes and leave to cool.
3.  In the meantime, snap the woody ends from the asparagus, chop into small pieces and boil in hot water, along with the peas until tender.
4. Using a potato peeler, cut ribbons from the cucumber – the contrast of light and dark green colours give a really attractive appearance to this pizza.
5.  Once the bases are cool, spread the soft cheese over the bases.
6. Next, add the cooked vegetables and cover with the cucumber ribbons.
7. Buon appetito!