Homemade Pizza Sauce, Margherita Pizza And A Giveaway
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I have my favourite pizzas. Pizzas I have shared with Nick mostly on a holiday. New flavours and combinations that instantly rooted deep in my heart. The grand Kathmandu, the comforting Europa, the utterly naughty Byron Bay and the wicked Malibu. I don’t know what makes it more exciting, the names or the unusual topping of ingredients. But a simple pizza naked of grand toppings is what I crave the most. And for that reason, the Margherita Pizza has to be my most beloved.
Simplicity is highly underrated. A homemade pizza crust, crispy from the addition of semolina is sensationalised by the simple addition of tomato sauce, basil leaves and cheese. Red, green and white. The colours of the Italian flag and the foundation of the infamous Margherita pizza that was created by chef Rafaelle Esposito for the beloved Queen of the masses in the late 1800s, Queen Margherita. A pizza and a history lesson. A perfect weekend culinary project to share with the kids.
I do not like the taste of the over processed almost burgundy sauce they sell under the guise of pizza sauce at the supermarket. So I make my own. And there is nothing to it really. A good homemade pizza sauce is bursting with the robust flavours of ripe tomatoes, made pungent with garlic and basil. If tomatoes are in season, I like to use fresh tomatoes. I especially love truss tomatoes. They are just too gorgeous. If tomatoes aren’t in season, I like to use passata, an Italian tomato sauce you are most likely to find at the deli or your local fruit and vegetable vendor. I always look for a bottle that lists only tomatoes and salt under ingredients. I make a huge batch of this sauce, easily doubling and tripling the recipe. It freezes well and also becomes the base of a lot of my pasta dishes. I hope you enjoy this sauce and simple pizza.
AND THE GIVEAWAY FOR ALL YOU LOVELY PEOPLE …
I am giving away a copy of Jamie’s Italy to one lucky reader. I absolutely ADORE this book and I am sure you will too. To win this
You must have an AUSTRALIAN postal address.
You must leave a comment and tell me about the best pizza you ever had!
Giveaway runs until June 16, 2012. Winner will be announced shortly after on June 18, 2012.
Home Made Pizza Sauce
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 20 minutes
Makes – 5 to 6 cups (enough for 6 large pizzas)
Ingredients
12 ripe tomatoes chopped fine or 2 x 400g tin of peeled whole tomatoes or 700g bottle of passata
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
handful of basil leaves, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano or some fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped
salt to taste
freshly cracked black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
Method
Heat olive oil on medium heat in a saucepan. Add the garlic and fry for a few seconds. Add the tomatoes/tomato sauce, half the basil leaves, all of the oregano, salt and pepper. Cook on medium-low heat for approximately 20 minutes, mashing the whole tomatoes gently from time to time. Remove when simmering and add the remaining basil leaves. Adjust seasoning, allow to cool and store in a clean sterilised glass jar.
Margherita Pizza
(Preparation time is based on the assumption that you have Pizza Dough and Pizza Sauce on hand)
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 12 minutes
Makes – 6 (from the basic pizza dough quantity). The recipe below is for 1 pizza.
Ingredients
1 quantity basic pizza dough
3 to 4 tablespoons homemade pizza sauce
7 to 8 fresh basil leaves
mozzarella cheese to sprinkle
olive oil to drizzle
Method
Preheat oven to 250C(500F). Lightly oil the base of an aluminium pizza platter/metal pizza crisper. I use cooking spray to spray lightly.
Take 1 dough ball onto oiled palms. Either gently start stretching the dough ball or roll it out thinly to about 0.5cm/quarter of an inch. Place on oiled pizza plate. Spread sauce all over the base except a thin area around the edge. Place basil leaves in a circle (1 leaf for each edge when you cut the pizza later). Sprinkle liberally with mozzarella cheese and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
Place in pre heated oven and cook for 12 minutes until golden and cheese is bubbling. Serve hot!
MY FAVOURITE PIZZA RESOURCES
Cookbook – Jamie’s Italy by Jamie Oliver.
Cookbook – Pizza Modo Mio by John Lanzafame.
Cuisinart 14 Inch Pizza Baking Pan.
Cookbook – Theo & Co : The Search For The Perfect Pizza.
Bialetti 3 piece Pizza Stone Set.
Ironwood Gourmet Acacia Pizza Paddle.
Wheel & Barrow - Round 30cm Aluminium Pizza Tray.
Zyliss Red Handheld Pizza Wheel.
Wilton Recipe Right Pizza Pans.
Baker’s Secret Mini Pizza Pan Set.
Zyliss Pizza Slicer With Handle.
Cookbook – Pizza by Pete Evans.
Splendid and so tempting! Homemade pizza can’t get any better.
Cheers,
Rosa
What a coincidence got home made pizza recipe from one of my colleague yesterday and today you have posted pizza recipe here
best pizza I had was “Goats cheese, mozzarella, spinach, red & caramelised onions with garlic oil drizzled all over” yummmm
Nutella and Strawberries!! Yum!!
Mr neighbour (Mrs Cupo) when I was a child made the best pizzas. They were simple and divine…everything came loving from her garden.
I would kill for one of those pizzas today.
x Marnie
My latest gluten-free pizza is my all time fav. Probably because it’s taken so many goes to perfect!
Emma Galloway´s last [type] ..pumpkin tofu curry recipe
Beautiful photos! I can’t believe you could restrain yourself from diving into the hot pizza for long enough to take these
Love that you’ve not included too much mozzarella either – pizza is so much nicer when the toppings are kept light.
thelittleloaf´s last [type] ..Chocolate & Honeycomb Semifreddo
Looks delicious! The best pizza I have ever had is the one that I make with my Dad – pear and pancetta on an oil and garlic base.
I simply LOVE homemade pizza! So good every time
Lovely photos…
chinmayie @ love food eat´s last [type] ..Creamy Spinach Dip (Heathly & Vegan with a secret ingredient!)
Wonderful homemade pizza!!!
That looks fantastic. And I love your pictures! They’re just so warm and inviting. And I don’t like store bought pizza sauce either. I bought it up until a few years ago, not realizing how easy it is to make it myself. Now you have me craving pizza!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking´s last [type] ..Peanut Butter Coconut Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats (can be gluten-free)
This is comfort food!
I never made the sauce at home and somehow Arvind is not a big fan of any red sauce but once in a while .. i know it would be amazing on pizza.
kankana´s last [type] ..Stir Fried Shrimp with Lemon Aioli
Have always wanted to bake pizza at home and yours urges me to try..
Simplicity is such a good thing sometimes..
Radhika @ Just Homemade´s last [type] ..DMBLGiT May 2012 ~ The Judges
My fave pizza would probably be the first one I made myself – base and all – with caramelised onion, sliced chorizo, chilli flakes and loads of fresh rocket. I use a Pete Evans pizza base recipe
Tina@foodboozeshoes´s last [type] ..Good times collective #5
I love pizzas but I dislike using store-bought sauces, so I am more than happy to stumble upon your blog today. Your pizza sauce looks great…and the pizza looks mind-blowing!
Purabi Naha´s last [type] ..Spicy Strawberry-Citrus Chutney: An Indo-Western Fusion
Home made Pizza made easy…looks wonderful.First time to your blog…you have a great one:) Will keep coming.
Nina´s last [type] ..Tilapia Tostadas – Mexican Style – A Guest Post by Ben Herrera of Whats Cooking Mexico?
Thank you for posting real food recipes! Which do not have to be fancy or fussy: yep, began making my own pizza sauce quite awhile back also. Remember Jamie O’s Italian TV series some time ago – you could not unglue me from the set. But tho’ I cherish quite a few of his simple, warm, generous, useful books this does not yet belong on my shelves
!
Roast vegetable pizza, mmmmmm….. I need a snack haha
Margherita pizza is my idea of heaven – I’m all about simplicity!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)´s last [type] ..brown butter chocolate chip malt cookies
Would LOVE the cookbook! My favourite pizza is the broccoli and chilli pizza at l’ucellino in Melbourne. Simple but delicious!
The best pizza I ever had was in Neuchatel, Switzerland. It was an individual pizza with black olives, tuna, tomatoes, and a few other ingredients that I can’t remember.
Thin crust pizza in Brooklyn!
We just polished off some homemade pizza for dinner tonight! I’ve been trying to master a thin and crispy base like the ones we’ve enjoyed in Europe but haven’t quite got there yet. I’ll give your recipe…well Jamies! a go. The best pizza I’ve ever had was a very simple margherita in Italy. So simple but so tasty! Thanks for the chance to win.
Ooh this recipe looks so yum and so simple! I’m going to have to try it! Thank you!
One of the best pizzas I’ve had was the Chilli King Prawn Pizza at Ciao Italia in South Perth! Marinated prawns in a chilli based sauce, whole peeled tomato sauce, Mozzarella cheese topped with
roasted capsicum & fresh diced tomat… Mm mm!
Ling´s last [type] ..Angeli
The best pizza I’ve ever had is the buffalo mozzarella salami calzone from Pizza Mario in Surry Hills. Nothing else has ever compared! I’m salivating now just thinking about it….
Oh fantastic – I’ll be keeping this in my folder for easy reference =)
Some of my favourites are non-tomato based though – the last one I made that had gorgonzola, fig & caramelised onion was a winner! I also loooove the sound of Ellie’s pear & pancetta… a few of my favourite things!
Mmmm.. I love a good homemade pizza, especially the versatility of toppings
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com´s last [type] ..Lavender key-limeade
My best pizza was defnitely in Italy when I went out for lunch with my Italian family who live on one of those little hilltop villages. The pizza dough was thin and crispy (which was new to me at that time) with fresh simple ingredients. I must have had similar good pizzas since then, but in my mind none even come close to that first great pizza in Italy. Maybe it was the atmosphere or they might just make better pizzas in Italy??
Hello! I’ve nominated you for the NEW Food Stories Award for Excellence in Storytelling. Go to the award site for all the details!:
http://foodstoriesblog.com/food-stories-award/
Thanks for writing!
Best Pizza I ever had was with my family all at home. It was homemade pizza, dough, sauce from scratch… toppings – just like a steamboat style… whatever they wanted.
We had time, we had fun, we had laughter, that was the best pizza I ever had.
mottgirl´s last [type] ..The Age’s Melbourne Run
That’s easy! I love garlic and chilli prawns on its own but on a pizza with fresh basil, bocconcini and chilli flakes, it’s like heaven! Definitely hands down, my favourite kind of pizza!
Best pizza ever? Pizza Bellaroma in Fremantle, Vegetatian with herbs and garlic. Just the BEST! Will have to try Jamie’s recipe and see how it compares!
The best pizza I have ever had, and I have had a lot, would have to be my boyfriend’s 3 cheese and mushroom pizza. I usually take over the kitchen when we are preparing meals, but when this is on the menu I leave it all to him.
Clare´s last [type] ..BBS
Best pizza I ever had was when I was 14 and in Aix en Provence (France) on a summer camp. Every few days we would get a chance to go into town and explore. The temperature was sweltering and the freedom sweet. The camp bus would let all the kids off near a fountain in the middle of town and the entire bus load would swarm to this one pizza stand. It was pretty much just a mobile van with an oven in it but the pizzas they made were just heavenly. Thinly crusted and just loaded with flavour. Each slice so big that it’d have to be folded in two down the middle…and the juices would run… into the brown paper bags they came in.
Oooh we love Jamie’s pizza dough too. So easy and delicious. Our 4 yo makes it with us and loves the process and the result. My fave is home cooked with tomato sauce (homemade with tomatoes and garlic from the garden), bocconcini and fresh basil. The simpler the better with pizza. So good!
Who doesn’t love pizza? It’s amazing! The BEST pizza I had was in Italy (of course). This amazing little restaurant near Sorrento called La Luna and they made the most amazing stuff crust pizza (nothing like dirty Dominos). I made the stuffed crust pizza last week and it was incredible. Salami and extra cheese…naughty but good! This will be on the blog some day
Oh and I love the photos this week! I love how they’re desaturated with that slight tint of colour in the shadows. Great work!
Emily – Adeline & Lumiere´s last [type] ..Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Nice recipes. One of the best pizzas I ever had was the morrocan lamb in Queenztown, NZ. Its worth a visit – Queenstown I mean, for some of the best food and amazing virgin natural scenery in the world.
I love to make my own sauce (and pizza dough) too, there is little better! The best pizza I’ve ever had is easily a true NYC woodfired pie! While Grimaldi’s is always exceptional there is a little place up in the 50′s called Angelo’s – perfect buffalo mozerella, fresh basil and rich tomato sauce – and no queue
A close second was a completely unexpected perfect pizza in Copenhagen – who knew?!
JJ @ 84thand3rd´s last [type] ..Hartsyard Seed & Feed – Newtown, Sydney
I LOVE vegetarian pizza – mushrooms, pineapple, tomatoes, capsicum, herbs, cheese and some sauce
YUMMM!
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