The 6 Nations!

February – the month of rotten weather and over-commercialised love! Nevertheless, for rugby fans across Europe, there is something we can look forward to! The 6 Nations kicks off and provides much needed escapism from the doom and gloom of winter! Every weekend, we pitch ourselves against our greatest rivals to be crowned champion and England got off to a good start in their quest to retain the title. And so this pizza pays tribute to all 6 nations involved in this exciting tournament: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy.

Ingredients:

For England: Mushy peas

For Scotland: 80g smoked salmon

For Wales: 1 Leek

For Ireland: Soda bread croutons

For France: 100g brie

...and for Italy: well the entire pizza of course!

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

Method:

1. When the bases have finished proving, remove them from the oven and turn the heat up to 210°C.
2. Begin by getting a couple of slices of soda bread and cutting into cubes. Put on a baking tray and drizzle with oil. Put in the warming oven to toast.
3. Next, make the mushy peas. Boil 120g of peas until cooked and then add to a food processor along with a knob of butter and splash of milk. Blitz and then spread over the pizza bases.
4. Chop and fry the leek and add this, along with some chunks of brie.
5. Remove the croutons from the oven and replace with the pizza bases. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. When these have finished, add the salmon and croutons.
7. Enjoy a TV dinner in front of the rugby!
8. Buon appetito!

Happy Chinese New Year!

I had a lovely day on Sunday – me and mum went up to London to do some shopping J it was a grey day but we were having a wonderful time nevertheless! For most of the day we were in our own little world filled with tea stops and treats – it wasn’t until we were rushing back for the train home that I noticed a lot of roads were becoming cordoned off by the police. Sceptical me thought there must be some protest going on, until it dawned on me that the unusually high number of red dragons and golden lanterns decorating the streets must mean it’s the Chinese New Year! So let’s celebrate! Here’s a pizza befitting of such an occasion J

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

Ingredients:

130g pre-prepared aromatic hoisin duck (found in supermarkets)

Handful of grated cucumber

4 spring onions, sliced

Grated zest of one orange

Method:

1. This pizza recipe couldn’t be simpler – perfect to make for your Chinese New Year party! As all my methods start off, take the bases out the oven once they’ve finished proving and turn the heat up to 210°C.
2. Open the packet of the pre-prepared duck and mix with the hoisin sauce. Spread this over the bases and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
3. Whilst these are in the oven, prepare the other ingredients: grate the cucumber, slice the spring onion and zest the orange.
4. When the pizza is out of the oven, top them with these extra ingredients and serve immediately.
5. Buon appetito!

London 2012 Pizza!

The summer of 2012 was very special for me and for one reason in particular – the Olympics came to London. I’ve recently been thinking back on my time as a volunteer Games Maker as this weekend, I met up with a few of my old colleagues who were also there. We reminisced about our fond memories for the Paralympics where for 2 weeks; we got to be part of an amazing atmosphere in the greatest city on Earth! It was also where I would meet my future husband J also a fellow Games Maker; we were clearly very attractive in our Orange and Purple uniforms! And so this pizza flies the flag for that beautiful colour combination!

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

Ingredients:

250g mascarpone cheese

2x red onion

2 handfuls of chopped, dried apricots

2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Drizzling of honey

Method:

1. When the bases have finished proving in the oven, remove them and turn the heat up to 210°C.
2. Start by slicing the red onion and frying with the chicken chunks.
3. Spread over the mascarpone cheese, and top with the fried onion and chicken.
4. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
5. Before serving, sprinkle over the dried apricots and drizzle over a generous helping of honey.
6. Buon appetito!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Come every winter when I was a kid, I used to pray for snow so that I could get a day off school and go sledging with my friends. I remember the feeling of getting utterly frozen to the core and only eventually giving in and returning home when my fingers were actually burning with pain! Now though, the story is quite different. Now I commute. Now I pray it never snows. Alas, the weather forecast is predicting it for the end of the week. So to cheer myself up I’ve created a pizza recipe that provides me with the warming thoughts of those hot chocolates given to me after a hard morning of sliding down those snow-covered hills!

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

Ingredients:

250g mascarpone cheese

Strips of ham

Drizzling of dark chocolate

Sprinkling of chilli flakes

Method:

1. When the bases have finished proving, remove them from the oven and turn the heat up to 210°C.
2. Spread the mascarpone over the bases, recreating that heavenly image of freshly fallen snow.
3. Top with the ham and sprinkle over the chilli flakes to help warm you up.
4. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
5. Before serving, and if you’re brave, drizzle over some melted dark chocolate. Because, at the end of the day, chocolate fixes everything.
6. Buon appetito!

My Jen-Do Pizza!

So as the title of this blog post suggests, it's part 1 (of 3!) of my Hen-Do (or Jen-Do as I've taken to calling it). To celebrate my upcoming nuptials, I'm off to Barcelona with my family for a long weekend!! We haven't had a holiday together in over 4 years and so I thought it was high-time the Johannes treated themselves to some Spanish sun! Not sure the temperatures will be blistering in January but we're still all very excited nevertheless! And here is my homage to some Spanish cuisine... although I won't be labelling it a paella - we all saw what trouble that caused Jamie Oliver...

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

Ingredients:

6 tbsp tomato purée
Slices of chorizo
2 handfuls of cooked, peeled prawns
1x 285g jar of roasted peppers
3 eggs

Method:

1. When the bases have finished proving, remove them from the oven and turn the heat up to 210°C. This is a very simple recipe to follow as most of the ingredients have already been pre-prepared for you... 
2. The majority of the effort comes here. In a pan of boiling water, place the eggs for 10 minutes. Cool them in cold water until you can peel the shell and then cut each one in half.
3. Next, simply spread the tomato purée over the bases and on top, lay the slices of chorizo - the number is dependent on your tastes - in my opinion, the more the merrier!
4. Scatter the prawns, followed by the roasted peppers.
5. Arrange the boiled egg quarters around the pizza so that no slice will be without!
6. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
7. Buon appetito!

A salad for those who love carbs...

Now don't get me wrong, I love a salad. Caesar, Cobb, Garden... you name it, I'll probably like it! Problem is, they're never very filling! If I'm out at a restaurant and I order one for my main, my smugness over choosing the healthy option is soon overshadowed by a growling hunger later on in the evening! Therefore I have decided to combine two culinary feats so that you too can still feel proud for choosing a Waldorf salad - but also cunning for knowing that it will fill you up for longer!

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

Ingredients:

2 sticks of celery
A bunch of grapes
A handful of lettuce leaves
A sprinkling of nuts of your choice, chopped
Mayonnaise in which to toss the salad

Method:

1. Bake the bases in the oven for 10 minutes at 210°C and then leave to cool. Because you'll be topping them with a salad, it's best they aren't piping hot to save runny mayonnaise!
2. Meanwhile, the salad itself can be made. It's so simple, all that's required is a mix of all the ingredients in a bowl with the mayonnaise - et voilà!
3. Top the bases with the salad and there you have it - a pizza fit for a health-conscious, carb-loving foodie!
4. Buon appetito!

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!