Italian Pizza

Eating out in Rome can be very expensive. Touristy restaurants with English menus tend to be more expensive than restaurants a block or two away from touristy areas. If you go to a trattoria or a pizzeria on side streets, you don´t have to eat a full meal, and you don´t have to pay for a full meal. Certain places sell food by weight. They have a counter with different types of pizzas (and other dishes). You choose a piece or two, they will weigh it, and you pay for the weight.

A large pizza cut into slices can be shared by two or three adults. So, for us pizza was great for lunch. Simply thin bread garnished with small amounts of flavorful tomatoes and cheese. Most Swedish pizzerias serve monstrous pizzas. They are larger than the plate, and covered with fat toppings such as Bearnaise sauce and fried meat. I get a food coma after such a meal.

Pizza (originally a Neapolitan dish) is simple. I haven´t baked a real pizza at home for ages. Once I had a recipe, which was full proof. Even my father liked that pizza. But I have lost the recipe. Now I have tried to recreate it from my memory.

INGREDIENTS:
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 25 g yeast
* 150 ml warm water
* 5 dl (500 ml) flour
* 2 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

FOR THE TOPPING:
* 400 g tinned tomatoes, chopped
* 4 tablespoons tomato pure
* 10-12 tinned Swedish anchovy fillets, or some sardelles (real anchovy)
* 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 24 olives
* 300 g Grevé cheese, grated
* 50 g Parmesan cheese, grated
* 3 teaspoons oregano (or more)
* 4 tablespoons olive oil

METHOD:
* Crumble the yeast in a bowl, and add lukewarm water.
* Stir until yeast is dissolved.
* Add oil, salt, and sieved flour.
* Mix well with a wooden spoon to blend everything together.
* Place the dough on a clean, floured surface, and kneed until smooth.
* Transfer dough to a clean bowl, and cover with a towel.
* Leave it in a warm place for ab. 60 min.
* Preheat oven to 250°C [480°F].
* Turn out the dough onto a floured surface, and shape it into four balls.
* Roll out each ball thinly.
* Brush two baking trays with olive oil and place the pizzas on the trays.
* Mix the tomato puré with the chopped tomatoes.
* Spread the mixture all over the dough.
* Sprinkle with chopped garlic.
* Garnish with drained anchovies and olives.
* Sprinkle with cheese and oregano.
* Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
* Cook in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and crispy.

You can put two baking trays in an hot air oven at the same time. In an ordinary oven, just swap the positions of the trays after ab. 10 minutes.

May I recommend my Swedish pizza salad? It goes not only with pizza; it goes with almost anything. Here it is: Pizza Salad