Pizza Margherita
INGREDIENTS for one pizza
230 gr (8.11 oz) Pizza Dough
100 gr (3.52 oz) Tomato Sauce
100 gr (3.52 oz) Cubed Mozzarella
Basil Leaves
Grated Parmesan
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A pinch of Salt
PREPARATION:
First of all lightly dust the table with flour, do the same with dough then roll it into a circle
using a rolling pin
Dust with flour again to prevent sticking to the table or the roller and roll out dough until ½ cm (0.195 inch) thick
In a circular baking tray, pour a little olive oil, spread it around to avoid pizza from sticking and spread well the edges
Lay down the pizza base onto the tray and use your finger to make a well defined edge
Put a pinch of salt into the tomato sauce, add some basil leaves hand crushed, a little olive oil and toss well
Smear the tomato sauce evenly over the pizza base, spread it till the edge using a spoon
then top with mozzarella
Place the pizza in preheated oven at 180 C (536 F) and bake for about 10 minutes
After 10 minutes remove your pizza from oven and top with basil leaves before serving
Fried Stuffed Rice Balls (Supplí)
INGREDIENTS for 4 persons
350 gr (12.34 oz) Rice
500 gr (17.63 oz) Ragù Sauce
2 Eggs
100 gr (3.52 oz) Cubed Mozzarella Cheese
100 gr (3.52 oz) Finely Grated Parmesan
60 gr (2.11 oz) Butter
1 Litre Meat Stock
Flour and Bread Crumbs to coat
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
500 gr (17.63 oz) Ragù Sauce
2 Eggs
100 gr (3.52 oz) Cubed Mozzarella Cheese
100 gr (3.52 oz) Finely Grated Parmesan
60 gr (2.11 oz) Butter
1 Litre Meat Stock
Flour and Bread Crumbs to coat
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
PREPARATION:
Heat up a pot over medium heat then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, half of the butter and let it melt
Once the butter has melted, add rice and toast it for about 2 minutes
Now add enough hot broth to cover the rice and when the broth has almost completely evaporated, continue to add it until the rice is cooked
When the rice is cooked al dente, season with salt, add remaining butter, ragù sauce, grated parmesan and stir quickly until becomes creamy
Turn off the heat and let it cool down to room temperature
Once the rice has cooled you can make your supplì
Break the eggs and whisk
Pick up a handful of the rice mixture, mould into small balls and firmly press it, place a cube of mozzarella into the centre then reshape into a ball
Firmly press the rice giving the typical elongated oval shape
At this point roll the rice ball in flour, continue moulding the rice to give it the elongated oval shape, then dip the supplì in egg and finally roll it well in bread crumbs
Repeat until all the rice is used
Heat extra virgin olive oil, which should be 3 inches deep, in a pot over high-medium heat, then add suplì
Let them fry until golden brown and crisp on all sides, turning over occasionally
When all supplì are golden brown, remove with a slotten spoon and place on kitchen paper to drain the olive oil
Transfer supplì to a serving dish and offer to your friends
Remember to eat them with hands
Italian Piadina Flat Bread (Piadina Romagnola)
Piadina is a thin Italian flatbread from Emilia Romagna Region.
INGREDIENTS for 4 flat breads
200 gr (7.05 oz) Flour
100 ml (3.4 fl oz) Tepid Water
10 gr (o.35 oz) Lard
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
A pinch of Salt
Filling for the savoury piadina
12 Prosciutto Slices
250 gr (8.81oz) Stracchino Cheese
Argula (Rocket)
Filling for the Sweet Piadina
Nutella
PREPARATION:
Piadina is a thin Italian flatbread from Emilia Romagna Region. *For a lighter version substitute the lard with extra virgin olive oil
In a bowl with flour, put lard, a pinch of salt, the baking soda and water
Start working all the ingredients by hand and once are well combined, transfer the dough to the table and continue kneading until you get a dough ball then push down the dough and stretch it
Cut into 4 equal pieces and use your palm to form 4 small dough balls, transfer them to a dish, cover with a cotton cloth and let it rest for at least 30 minutes
After the 30 minutes has passed, uncover the dough and start to flatten it
Dust the table with just enough flour to prevent the dough from sticking, flatten with the palm of your hand then roll the dough out take with a rolling pin and form a disk 25 cm (9.8 inces) wide and about 1-2 mm thick
Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, once hot, place the piadina into the pan and start cooking it
After about 2 minutes, turn over piadina which surface has a kind of light brown colour and cook for another couple of minutes
Now fill the savoury piadina. Put stracchino cheese on your piadina and spread it over half the surface then add prosciutto slices, arrange argula on top of prosciutto and fold in half
To fill the sweet piadina, spread abundant Nutella over half the surface and fold in half. BUON APPETITO
Pizza Dough
INGREDIENTS for 2 pizzas 425 gr (14.9 oz) 00 Flour
5 gr (0.17) Brewer's Yeast
250 ml (8.45 fl oz) Room Temperature Water
10 ml (0.33 fl oz) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 gr (0.35 oz) Salt
PREPARATION:
Sprinkle some flour on the working surface and place the flour on it
Make a well in the middle and pour a little water, add the crumbled yeast, blend the flour little by little then add the remaining water
Knead well then add the olive oil and salt
Continue kneading with your hands until the dough is homogeneous then roll it into a ball
Once your dough is ready, smooth and elastic, place a little flour into the bowl to prevent dough sticking to the edges, place dough ball into the bowl, cover with a towel and let it rest for about 4 hours
After 4 hours uncover the dough which is soft and well raised and take it out of the bowl
With this dough you can make all your favourite pizzas
If you want to use the dough the next day, cover with plastic wrap and put in the freeze.
