Tomato by Claire Thomson (Quadrille, £22) Photography ©Sam Folan
Frying Pan Pizza with Tomato, Oregano and Chilli Flakes
Honestly a brilliant method to cook pizza. You do get a different kind of crust when you fry a pizza compared with baking one – different but just as good.
Serves
4
Ingredients
- For the dough
- 500g ‘00’ flour, or use plain flour, plus more to roll
- 325ml warm water
- 1½ teaspoons or 7g fast-action dried yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- For the topping
- olive oil, for frying
- 1 x 400g can of plum tomatoes, blended
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and kept whole but bashed a little
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Parmesan, grated, to serve
Method
- Mix the flour, water and yeast together in a bowl to form a wet dough, then add the salt and put the dough to one side for five minutes. Process the dough in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, kneading for three to five minutes, until smooth and cohesive (or do this by hand, if you like). Put to one side somewhere warm to rise for one to two hours, until not quite doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, heat a splash of oil in a small saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the tomatoes, oregano and garlic, season well with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes to thicken slightly and for the flavours to meld. Remove the garlic cloves from the tomato sauce, take the pan off the heat and put it to one side. This should be enough sauce for four pizzas.
- Divide the risen dough equally into four balls and, on a lightly floured surface, roll or pull the dough into shape – about a 20cm disc, or to fit the size of your frying
- pan. Allow for each pizza to have a slightly bigger lip around the edge.
- Get the frying pan hot over a high heat. Add a big splash of olive oil (enough to cover the base of the frying pan) and, using tongs, gently lay one of the pizza discs into the pan, lowering it away from you so you don’t splash yourself with any of the hot oil.
- Use the kitchen tongs to press the centre of the dough down as it bubbles up and away from the pan. Cook for about one to one and a half minutes on the first side, until golden brown in patches and bubbly on the surface. Use the tongs to carefully flip the dough over and cook the other side for another one to two minutes, until golden and bubbly in places.
- Immediately slather the pizza with some of the tomato sauce, remove from the heat and add a slick more olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan, if you like, to serve. Repeat for the remaining discs of dough and the remaining topping sauce, serving the pizzas hot as they come out of the pan.
Tomato by Claire Thomson (Quadrille, £22) Photography ©Sam Folan
