This pizza is heartfelt. It is all about a salute to finding
the balance between indulgence and healthy and along the making it as made from
scratch as possible. A homemade thin crust pizza topped with shredded spiced chicken,
caramelized onions, mozzarella and cheddar cheese and bell peppers is just the
perfect, yummylicious weekend dinner or even breakfast, I say!
Who doesn’t love pizza! But, alas, things so good are hardly
ever good for you. Now, exactly what about the pizza is bad? Oh, the gallons of
grease, and piles of cheese, you say; all good tasting but sadly artery
clogging stuff. But, what if you could actually control all that to the normal
and acceptable levels? If you could with some extra
effort ensure that a pizza slice is as good-for-you a meal as any other that
you make at home, would you do it? Of course, without compromising on the
flavor etc. etc....
If you are willing to go that extra bit, then you are
in for a happy, happy surprise! I made pizza at home. Yes, from scratch. What
else did you expect from me?! The base, the sauce, the toppings, the whole nine
yards. I really would not have even considered making the pizza base at home if
not for browsing some of my favorite food blogs, in particular Sanaa’s ‘Easy
Pizza Dough’ recipe on Cucumbertown.
She makes bread-making sound so easy that I decided to give it a chance. And it
was worth it! Thanks a ton Sanaa. My other inspiration to try out this delish
pizza was a fab baking tray gifted by our loving aunt, Mommy. Mommy is an
excellent cook (though I haven’t tasted her food yet, maybe the next time you
visit us Mommy?) and a beautiful person. The day she gave us the tray I was
determined to cook up something interesting using the same. “Mommy, the tray
was lovely, thanks to you the pizza turned out extremely well”.
I have not attempted to make any yeast-bread at home at all.
Until now... Once I set about it, I was really surprised to see how easy it
was. It’s quick to prepare and an excellent on-the-go-meal
option and I assure you it is worth every minute. It made me wonder why I
thought all this was a painful process in the first place. But, well, happily I
have been corrected of my faulty notion. And, from this day forward, I swear to
give any other yeast bread more than a passing shot in my kitchen!
So, once the dough was all set, I rolled it out into an oval
shaped base, topped it up with some delicious stuff and used very less cheese
and hence no grease making it healthy! Simple, rustic and absolutely divine…so
what are you waiting for, go ahead and make this scrumptious pizza for your
family.
Simple, clean flavors… that's the way I like it...
It was delicious! So, I can really have it more often than
before and with my own choice of toppings! Yippee! :)
Ingredients for the Pizza
Base
2 cups All Purpose Flour
2 1/4 teaspoon Dry Yeast (refer
notes)
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Water
2 tablespoon Olive oil
Ingredients for the
Pizza Sauce
4 large Tomatoes; diced
4 cloves of Garlic; finely chopped
1 small/medium size Big Onion; finely chopped
1 tablespoon Tomato paste
2 teaspoon Oregano; fresh or dried (I used dried)
1 teaspoon Basil; fresh or dried (I used dried)
1/2 teaspoon Pepper; freshly milled (adjust as per spice
tolerance)
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Red Chilli flakes (optional)
Salt; to taste
Ingredients for
Caramelized Onions
3 to 4 large size Big Onions
1 tablespoon Butter
1 teaspoon Sugar
Salt; to taste
Apple Cider Vinegar or Water; just enough to soften
the onions (refer notes)
Ingredients for the
Topping
I used 250 grams of shredded chicken sautéed with a few
spices like paprika; freshly sliced bell peppers and of course cheese. (a
mixture of mozzarella and cheddar) [Please
refer notes for more ideas]
Method to prepare the
Pizza Base
Dissolve the dry yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Let it
rest till slight bubbles form. Now add sugar, stir and keep aside for 4 to 5
minutes or till the mixture turns frothy.
Take a wide mixing bowl and add all the ingredients
(including the dissolved yeast) into it. Combine all the ingredients and gently
knead with fingertips until a slightly sticky dough forms. You don’t have to
work your arm by kneading too much. Just get the dough together. Transfer into
an oiled bowl and turn the dough so the oil coats it. Cover with a damp kitchen
towel and let it rise for about 25 to 30 minutes or until doubled in volume.
Method to prepare the
Pizza Sauce
Heat the oil in wok and add chopped garlic and onion into
it. Sauté till the onions turn light brown. Throw in the chopped tomatoes,
tomato paste, herbs, salt, pepper, spice powders and chilli flakes (optional) and
sauté till tomatoes turn soft. Cover and cook for a few minutes till tomatoes
turn very soft and mushy and water has evaporated. Cool the mixture and blend
to a smooth puree.
Method to prepare
Caramelized Onions
Heat butter in a broad pan and when the butter melts add the
onions into it. Add enough salt and sugar and sauté on high heat till onions
turn a lovely golden brown. Stir continuously to avoid onions sticking to pan.
At this time pour cider vinegar or water little by little to soften the onions.
This process is called deglazing. Repeat this process till onions turn soft and
water has completely dried up. (your onions must be a beautiful golden brown
and should be soft and sticky)
Method to prepare the
Pizza
Punch down the prepared dough and knead lightly until it forms a
ball. Transfer to a floured surface.
Roll the dough into a circle, rectangle, oval or any
desired shape, flouring it as you go. Once rolled out to desired shape,
transfer the base to a greased baking tray lined with parchment/greaseproof
paper (optional). Slather on some pizza sauce and throw in the shredded
chicken, caramelized onions, bell peppers and grated cheese.
Preheat oven at 100 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. Bake the
pizza in the preheated oven at 200 degree Celsius for about 15 minutes. The
base will turn a lovely golden brown.
Sprinkle a pinch of chilli flakes and oregano on top and serve
them hot or warm. Yum yum yum…
Notes:
1. If you are using instant yeast in place of dry yeast,
just throw it directly into the pizza dough while preparing it, so that makes
the process easier. But please don’t go hunting for instant yeast because dry
yeast works out just fine and is not difficult at all. Just takes a few extra
minutes, that’s all.
2. You can always use cider vinegar to deglaze your
caramelized onions but I used water and it worked out just fine.
3. You can use any topping of your choice. Some yummy options
are sausage (chicken/pork/beef), pepperoni, chicken franks, beef mince,
spinach, basil leaves, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, fresh
onions and tomatoes, any kind of grilled or prepared leftover chicken from day
before’s dinner or lunch…. Oh the options are too many! Of course cheese goes
without a say, anything is ok I guess, mozzarella, cheddar, goat’s cheese,
feta, anything really.
Here are a few links that helped me get going to prepare
this tasty pizza:
Easy Pizza Dough: http://www.cucumbertown.com/recipes/easy-pizza-dough
How to Quickly Caramelize Onions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt_0e72fs9M
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