Recipe: Tenderstem and mozzarella pizza (From Surrey Comet)

Recipe: Tenderstem and mozzarella pizza

7:30am Wednesday 9th January 2013 in Leisure

You can’t beat homemade pizza. This recipe is kept simple by using a bought pizza base mix; however you can prepare your own dough if preferred. Alternatively you can speed things up even more by using a ready prepared base.

The toppings are just a suggestion. Just about anything goes with Tenderstem, so you can easily customise this recipe to suit your taste.

Makes 2 pizzas (approximately 23-25cm diameter each) serves 4

Preparation time: 10 -15 minutes
Cooking time: up to 40 minutes

You’ll need:

1 double packet of ‘pizza pizza’ base
Flour for rolling out
2 tbsp olive oil
½ red onion, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
Salt and pepper
150g grated mozzarella
150-200g Tenderstem
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
6 button mushrooms, thinly sliced

What to do:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C, 400°F or gas mark 6.

2. Prepare the pizza dough according to the packet instructions, giving you 2 x balls of dough. Roll each one out on a lightly floured surface then sit onto lightly floured baking sheets, turning the edges under to create a crust. Leave to rise while you prepare the tomato sauce and toppings.

3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan then gently sauté the chopped onion and garlic for about 8 minutes. Add the mixed herbs, chopped tomatoes and puree. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Spread a generous amount of the tomato sauce over the pizza bases, leaving a 1cm crust. Scatter over the mozzarella and top with the Tenderstem (halved lengthways is they are particularly thick stems), red pepper, mushrooms and onion.

5. Add a twist of black pepper and drizzle over some olive oil. Place in the oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the top is golden and the dough is crisp.

PS…
If you fancy being creative with the dough, why not add some flavour such as 1 tsp dried flaked chilli, 1 tbsp chopped basil, small handful of finely grated parmesan or 1 tbsp finely chopped olives.

Serve with a side salad of mixed baby leaves.

Submitted by www.tenderstem.co.uk