“A New York-style thin crust, homemade tomato sauce and a spicy, meat topping, this pizza recipe is to die for. ”
Ingredients
- 1 kg strong white bread flour , plus extra for dusting
- 1 x 7 g sachet of yeast
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil
- extra virgin olive oil
- For the tomato sauce
- 3 cloves of garlic , peeled
- ½ a bunch of fresh basil , leaves picked
- 2 x 400 g tins of plum tomatoes
- For the topping
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 150 g pork mince
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary , leaves picked
- 300 g block of mozzarella cheese , for grating
- 30 jalapeño chillies
Method
- To make the pizza dough, place the flour on a clean work surface or in a large bowl, make a well in the middle, then gradually pour in 750ml of lukewarm water, followed by the yeast, sugar, a pinch of salt and a lug of olive oil. Use a fork to mix in the flour from the sides, then bring it together with your hands to form a slightly sticky dough. Knead the dough on a flour-dusted surface for around 5 minutes, or until soft and springy, then place in a flour-dusted bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for around 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pan. Finely chop and add the garlic, tear in the basil leaves and add the plum tomatoes, then cook for 5 minutes, or until smelling and tasting fantastic. Using a hand blender, blitz the sauce until smooth, then season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Bash the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar, then add to a medium frying pan over a medium heat with a splash of olive oil, the pork mince and rosemary leaves. Fry for around 5 minutes, or until cooked through and crisp, stirring occasionally.
- Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7. Place a pizza stone in the oven to preheat. Divide the risen dough into 10 equal-sized balls, then roll out on a flour-dusted surface to roughly ½cm thick and 25cm in diameter. Grate and sprinkle over equal amounts of the mozzarella, making sure to leave a rough 2cm gap around the edges, then drizzle about 5 tablespoons of tomato sauce onto each – by adding the cheese first and the tomato second, you’ll stop the base from getting soggy.
- Scatter over the fennel-spiked pork, then finely slice and sprinkle over the chillies. Drizzle with olive oil, then carefully remove the pizza stone from the oven and place a few pizzas on top, depending on how many you can fit (you’ll need to do this in batches). Pop in the hot oven for around 10 minutes, or until golden and crisp, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, slice up and serve as you go.
Source: Jamie Oliver
