SPAM Alert! - I've Made Pizza

It's no secret that I'm not an Italian...as far as I know (mum?). But a while back, I decided to make pizza from scratch. Being the same ambitious self or as my friend Goz will say, obsessive, I've made not one but three different toppings. Well, there weren't that hard really, as once the pizza dough and the tomato sauce were made, the rest were all just simply assembling job. 

For one of the pizza, I've made a spicy topping using the jar of Mexican Chipotles en Adobo which I've made months ago and some spicy sausages. The homemade tomato sauce went into the more conventional salami and asparagus version and then there was the pièce de résistance - Spam (Gasp!) and Pineapple pizza. Yes, you've read that right, SPAM.

After my last post proclaiming my love of spam, it is no surprise that I would include this wonderful ingredient and what a wonderful treat it was! I did received a few objections when the photos of this were shared on the social media site but hey-ho, I have never said that I was making was authentic or traditional pizza. They are just some of my favourite flavours being captured on this brilliant invention of the sunny Italy. And spam was definitely one of them. God Save The Spam!

Ingredients (Makes about 3 large pizza)

550g Italian '00' flour or strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

7g fast action dried yeast

pinch of fine salt

400ml warm water

2 tbsp olive, plus extra for kneading

Method

In a large bowl, add the flour, yeast and salt along with the water and olive oil and mix to bring everything together to form a soft dough. Lightly oil the work surface and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes until it is soft and pliable. Cover the bowl with a clingfilm and place in a warm place, such as the airing cupboard and leave to prove for 1-2 hours, until double in size.

Knock the air back out of the dough and divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Leave to rest for 15 minutes before flattening and stretching each piece into a thin round disc, or rectangular for a not-so-conventional pizza. You can either do it with the dexterity of a professional pizza chef or like me, just flatten and stretch them with the ball of you palm and push from the middle and outwards.

Heat the oven to 240ºC and top the pizza base with the topping of your choice (See below for topping ideas). Place the pizza onto a lightly floured baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes until the crust turn crispy and golden. 

Topping 1 - Pizza with Tomato, Salami, Asparagus and Mozzarella

Ingredients

For the tomato sauce:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 small onion, finely chopped

400g can of chopped tomatoes

1 small bunch of fresh basil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

12-16 slices of good quality salami

1 bundle of asparagus, snap of the tough ends and sliced into 2 cm pieces 

1 ball of buffalo mozzarella

extra virgin olive oil

a few sprigs of fresh basil leave, for garnish

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add the garlic and onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the tomatoes and basil and cook slowly for 25 minutes, until reduced and thickened. Season to taste. Remove and allow to cool.

Spread the tomato sauce sparingly over the pizza base. Scatter with the salami and asparagus evenly. Tear the mozzarella into bite-size pieces and dot around the pizza. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven and serve garnish with fresh basil.

Topping 2 - Pizza with Chipotle, Spicy Sausage, Jalapeño and Mozzarella

Ingredients

3 tbsp Chipotles en Adobo / Mexican chilli sauce
2-3 good quality sausage of your choice, I used a spicy version, remove the outer-skin
50g sliced jalepeño pepper
1 small handful of fresh coriander leaves, leaves picked
1 ball fresh mozzarella
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method


Spread the Chipotles en Adobo evenly over the pizza base. Scatter with the spicy sausagemeat, jalepeño and coriander. Tear the mozzarella into bite-size pieces and dot around the pizza. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven until crisp and golden. Serve hot.

Topping 2 - Pizza with SPAM, Pineapple, Basil and Mozzarella

Ingredients


Tomato sauce (from topping 1)
200g SPAM, cut into 1cm cube
100g prepared pineapple pieces

1 ball of buffalo mozzarella

extra virgin olive oil

a few sprigs of fresh basil leave

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

Method


Spread the tomato sauce sparingly over the pizza base. Scatter with the Spam and pineapple evenly. Tear the mozzarella into bite-size pieces and dot around the pizza. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and top with fresh basil. Bake in the oven until crispy and golden. Serves immediately.