Post-Christmas Detox

Christmas has to be one of the most special times of the year! All the family comes together to exchange gifts, play games and eat enough food to feed a small army. But sadly, as soon as it arrives, it quickly passes again until next year – the only lingering thing is the tightness felt when trying to do the top button up on my trousers… And so this pizza is designed to help kick-start that healthy-eating regime you’ve promised to stick to come New Year – shouldn’t be too difficult with recipes like this!

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

Ingredients:

Leftover beetroot relish

4 carrots, grated

100g cheese, grated

Method:

1. When the bases have finished proving, take them out of the oven and turn the heat up to 210°C.
2. Now as well as being a detox for the body, this pizza can also be a detox for your kitchen cupboards. I’m using up things that have been left over from the festivities.
3. So the beetroot relish was shop bought and used to go with our teatime crackers and cheese on Christmas Day. Spread this over the bases.
4. Next, grate the carrots on top, followed by the cheese. Here. I’m using double Gloucester with onion and chive – bit of a change from the ordinary cheddar!
5. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
6. Buon appetito!

 

Goodbye and good riddance, 2016!

A year many will remember and perhaps not for the most cheerful of reasons. Celebrity deaths one after the other, countless terrorist atrocities across the world, a heart-breaking Brexit and now Trump... What is the world coming to? Not usually a fan of New Year, on this occasion I will be more than happy to welcome in 2017 and say goodbye to a year of tragedy! And for comfort food with which to stuff our faces and forget our woes? – a pizza only Trump would not want to be served... As the Mexicans would say “provecho!”

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

Ingredients:

1 red onion, diced

170g minced beef

1x 400g can chopped tomatoes

1x 400g can kidney beans

100g grated cheese

Cinnamon and paprika to taste

Method:

1. When the bases have finished proving, take them out the oven and heat it to 210°C.
2. Meanwhile, fry the red onion and minced beef, then add the chopped tomatoes.
3. Season with cinnamon and paprika – although this seems like an odd combination, trust me – the sweetness and spice really do complement one another J
4. Drain the kidney beans and stir through before taking the mixture off the heat.
5. Add to the bases and then grate over the cheese.
6. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
7. Bon appetito! – or provecho!

Say cheeeeeeeese!

I can’t take credit for this recipe (or the photo for that matter!) – this is all thanks to Mamma Johannes! One weekend a little while ago, I must admit that I ashamedly neglected my pizza-making duties. But what resulted was something of pure delicious genius! Forget you gourmet Quattro Formaggio – it’s all about the trio here. Cheddar, mozzarella, Boursin – simple. Guaranteed to satisfy even the fussiest of eaters, this pizza is not only a family favourite, it’s a chef’s delight when time is against you.

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

Ingredients:

6 tbsp tomato purée

125g mini mozzarella pears

100g Boursin cheese, crumbled

100g cheddar, grated

2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Method:

1. Once the bases have finished proving, then take them out of the oven and turn the heat up to 210°C.
2. Unlike a lot of my other recipes, this is so simple to follow and a doddle to make! All that you need to do is spread the purée over the bases, add the cheese and dot over your halved cherry tomatoes! And that’s it! After all, don’t they say: “enjoy the simple things in life”...?
3. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes and buon appetito!

An Aussie’s BBQ pizza!

Visiting Australia is at the very top of my bucket list. Perhaps it’s because I grew up watching Neighbours every weekday afternoon with my sister – or maybe it’s simply down to the hours of glorious sunshine they always seem to be bathed in. Whatever the reason, I can’t wait to sample their laidback lifestyle, carefree culture and year-long summery cuisine! Living in England, BBQs are that rare treat happening once a year (twice – if you’re lucky), during our two-week long summer. So this pizza is my temporary stop-gap before I get to taste that Aussie barbie for real.

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

Ingredients:

2 sweet potato

200g cooked and peeled prawns

1x 435g can of pineapple chunks

2 handfuls of desiccated coconut

Method:

1. When the bases have finished proving, take them out the oven and turn the heat up to 210°C.
2. While the oven is heating up, you can prepare the sweet potatoes. Peel and dice them, then boil until tender. Next, mash them - adding a little olive oil to help slacken the mixture.
3. Spread this over the two bases.
4. Add the prawns and pineapple and then bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
5. Before serving, sprinkle over the desiccated coconut.
6. Buon appetito! 

Aubergine is the new kale...

First it was goji berries, next it was acai and then along came kale. Superfoods seem to come and go like reality TV stars - talk about having their 15 minutes of fame or what! Now it seems the health-kick of the moment is that old favourite, the aubergine! Unlike its predecessors, most people will have actually heard of it though and be able to identify in their local supermarket. So here's to a superfood that is actually pronounceable, affordable and not likely to disappear from shelves when the next edible superhero takes over to save all of humanity!

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

To make the broccoli pesto:

1 head of broccoli

50g parmesan cheese

50g pine nuts

150ml olive oil

This veggie twist on an Italian classic compliments the aubergine perfectly, both in colour and taste! It's simple to make - all you have to do is boil the broccoli until tender and then blitz with the other ingredients in a food processor.

Other ingredients you will need:

1 aubergine, diced

1x 400g can of black eyed peas

Handful of raisins

Method:

1. When the bases have finished proving, take them out the oven and allow it to heat up to 210°C.
2. Make the broccoli pesto according to the instructions above and spread over the bases.
3. Drain the can of black eyed peas and add these on top, followed by the aubergine after you have lightly fried it for a few minutes.
4. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
5. Sprinkle over some raisins to give it an exotic twist. I find that by doing this step after baking, the raisins keep their juiciness and don't go hard.
6. Buon appetito!