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Pizza-4

Prosciutto di San Daniele & Grana Padano Pizza

A delicious homemade pizza topped with sun-dried tomato pesto, olives, chillies and Grana Padano cheese and then finished with Prosciutto di San Daniele and rocket.
Active Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Servings: 4 portions (2 pizzas)

INGREDIENTS

For the pizza base

  • 350 g '00' flour - see note 1
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 240 ml water - cold-lukewarm, not hot

For the sun-dried tomato pesto

  • 8-9 sun-dried tomatoes - + some of the oil they're stored in
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • A handful of fresh basil leaves
  • 1 tbsp toasted pine nuts
  • 30 g grated Grana Padano cheese
  • Salt and pepper

For the other toppings

  • 150 g of grated Grana Padano cheese
  • A few cherry or baby plum tomatoes
  • A few olives
  • 1 fresh red chilli - use more or less depending on how spicy you'd like your pizza to be
  • A few slices of Prosciutto di San Daniele
  • A handful of fresh rocket

INSTRUCTIONS

Make the pizza dough

  • Put the flour (350g), yeast (1 tsp) and salt (1 tsp) into a large bowl - Put the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl to prevent the salt killing the yeast before it's had a chance to work.
  • Make a well in the centre and add half the water (120ml), mix well with your hands.
  • Keep adding water a little bit at a time until all of the flour has been incorporated into the dough. The dough should be slightly sticky but not sloppy - If you accidentally add too much water add a sprinkle of flour and combine until you have the right consistency.
  • Spread a little of the olive oil onto a clear work surface and knead the dough in the oil. Keep adding a little oil until the full 2 tbsp have been incorporated - The olive oil helps to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface and adds flavour to the pizza. The dough can sometimes get sticky while kneading, keep persevering, it will improve, and don't be tempted to add more flour or you'll end up with a dry, heavy pizza base. If you prefer you can knead the dough in a mixer with a dough hook on a low speed for 5 minutes.
  • Keep kneading the dough until it is smooth, springy and if you stretch it in front of a light source you'll be able to see the light coming through without the dough breaking.
  • Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to prove for 1-1½ hours (or overnight in the fridge) until the dough has doubled in size - The important thing here is the dough doubling in size, not the time. The amount of time the dough needs to prove can vary according to the temperature of the room, so if it's not doubled in size, leave it a bit longer.
  • Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and knead a couple of times to knock out all of the air.

While the pizza is proving make the pesto

  • Add all of the pesto ingredients (minus the salt and pepper) into a small blender (or into a small bowl if you're using a hand blender). If the pesto is a little thick then blend in a little of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes until you have your desired consistency. Blend until there are no large lumps remaining. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Make your pizza

  • Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.
  • Divide your pizza dough in two and shape it into two circles about ½ cm thick.
  • Spread the sun-dried tomato pesto onto the pizza base then sprinkle with the grated Grana Padano cheese. Top with the tomatoes (halved or cut into 3 for the larger ones), olives (sliced) and red chilli (sliced).
  • Bake in the oven for roughly 12 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
  • Once cooked remove the pizzas from the oven and top with slices of Prosciutto di San Daniele and a few fresh rocket leaves.
  • Enjoy!

NOTES

Note 1 - You can also use plain flour or strong bread flour if '00' is not available, but I find '00' gives a lighter, crisper base.

Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.


Course: Main Course, Snack
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Family Friendly Dinner
Author: Charlotte Oates