Evans - Indulgent Pizza

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contents

introduction

I have had a very long love affair with pizza. It started at a young age when my mum would make pizzas on the weekends. My mates would come over to watch some movies and eat pizza after a day of surfing and kicking the football down at the beach. Mum would first make the dough, then top the bases with the best toppings she could find. The pizzas were quite simple and therein lies the beautyyou just need a few quality ingredients and the rest, as they say, is as easy as (pizza) pie.

When I started my apprenticeship, at the age of seventeen, I was taught how to make authentic pizza by an Italian fellow named Arturo (or Arthur as he was often called). Arturo was a real pizzaiolo (pizza maker). To watch him work was like watching an opera, a ballet and a rock concert all at the same time. Every part of the pizza-making process has a rhythm and feel to it, from the making of the dough, to the rolling out, tossing and flattening of the dough.

It wasnt until I was thirty years old that I took on the biggest challenge of my culinary career and opened up a pizza restaurant. At the time, I had opened three award-winning restaurants that specialised in contemporary global cuisine, but I wanted to open a very cool pizzeria. I spent a year researching and working in pizzerias to uncover the secrets to the very best pizza. I can remember locking myself away for more than three months in the kitchen, experimenting with my pizzas. I would spend a whole day on the margherita, making 50 different versions of it. I would end the day completely and utterly exhausted, but having perfected the topping. I did the same with all the pizzas that made it onto the menu (and even with those that didnt). I wanted them to be faultless and, most importantly, they needed to be able to be replicated and recreated without me present in the restaurant kitchen. I believe I have achieved this and the restaurant has gone on to win numerous awards, including the Best Pizza in the World award in New York City in 2005 and also a few Best in Australia titles.

But awards aside, what I am most thrilled about is that I have been able to write this book with the knowledge and trust that YOU can create my pizzas at home for family and friends and, most importantly, for yourself, with the same results that I achieve in my restaurants.

As with all recipes, these are just ideas that work for me and my tastebuds, so I hope that they inspire you, and I encourage you to experiment with different flavours. I look forward to hearing about your culinary triumphs. (I am always thrilled when one of my readers sends me their success stories!) Send your top pizza toppings to . If you take just one of these recipes and incorporate it into your cooking repertoire, then I know that all the work that has gone into making this book has been worth it.

Cheers, Pete

ingredients for the perfect pizza

the oven

The domestic countertop electric pizza ovens are brilliant as they can generate enough heat to make a commercial-quality pizza at home. This is because they have heat elements at the top and bottom, as well as a ceramic pizza stone, which helps to create the perfect crispy crust.

A conventional oven, with the aid of a pizza stone (a flat piece of unglazed stoneware) heated to its hottest setting will also give good results. All domestic ovens differ, but as a general rule, the higher you place the pizza stone in the oven, the better the result. If you have a hooded grill at home, then crank it up as hot as it goes and follow the steps that I have outlined for a conventional oven. And, of course, if youre lucky enough to have a wood-fired oven at home, this is the original and best way to cook pizza.

the dough

Making pizza dough is so easy; take the time to give it a go. You can store proved dough balls in the freezer, then defrost when ready to use. Its fun for the kids and very cost effective. You need to use strong flour to make a proper pizza dough (I like to use 00 flour). In my restaurants, and in this book, we use dry yeast which we activate with lukewarm water before mixing into the dough. Next step is proving. This is when the dough rests, giving it time to rise and for the yeast to ferment before baking. The ideal temperature is between 27C (80F) and 43C (109F). Any hotter and the yeast will be destroyed, resulting in a heavy and stodgy dough; any cooler and the yeast will not activate, resulting in an inferior dough. I roll out the pizza bases with semolina, polenta or flour as it gives the dough a beautiful crisp finish. I love a thin crust, so that I dont bloat my guests bellies, but if you like a thicker dough, then by all means go for it. Finally, remember to dock the pizza (prick the base with a fork), to stop the dough from bubbling up when its cooked.

the sauce

There are generally two types of pizza bases, red (rosso) and white (bianco). Red is obviously a tomato base. My tried and true recipe for a tomato pizza sauce is the simplest thing in the worldI just take the best-quality tinned, whole peeled tomatoes I can find, then blend them with some sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and dried oreganothats it! I dont cook it, I dont add garlic, I dont add fresh herbs, I dont use fresh tomatoes. This allows the toppings on this very basic, sweet, unadulterated sauce to shine. A white pizza consists of a simple olive oil and seasoning base, then topped with cheese so it doesnt burn, followed by the toppings of your choice. Dont drown the base in sauce or it will never crisp up.

the cheese

In pizza making there are two types of mozzarella, the regular cows milk stringy one, which is used on the base and acts like a glue to stick the toppings on. Less is more when it comes to this type of cheese. The second type is buffalo milk mozzarella, the food lovers choice. If you have the budget always use this cheese in place of the first one described.

the toppings

Splurge on the best-quality toppings you can afford. Go to a gourmet deli and invest in some paper-thin slices of San Daniele prosciutto or Parma hamthis will slightly melt as it is sprinkleed across the top of a hot pizza. Also, pick up some semi-dried tomatoes, roasted capsicum and good-quality olives. And again, dont smother your pizza with toppings. Remember that what you put on after the pizza comes out of the oven can also turn a good pizza into a great one, so think about using fresh cheeses, toasted nuts, fresh herbs and herb sauces, dressings, and edible leaves of any description.

Buon appetito!

pizza stone

A pizza stone is a piece of unglazed ceramic or earthenware specifically used to cook pizzas on. The nature of the pizza stone and preheating it from a cold oven helps to distribute the heat evenly across the pizza base to create a crisp crust. Always put a pizza stone in a cold oven and then turn the oven on, letting it heat up along with the oven; adding a cold pizza stone to a hot oven can cause it to crack. Remember that once a pizza stone has been heated, the stone is too hot to handle, even with an oven glove. If you dont have a pizza stone, it is possible to preheat a large oven tray for 30 minutes and use it in the same way.