Whether you like yours simply plain or loaded up, you’ll gobble up these tasty pizza facts.
Did you know that 350 slices of pizza are eaten every second in the United States? Or, how about the fact that the most expensive pizza in the world – which features some of the costliest ingredients you can find, including grains of pink Australian sea-salt from the Murray River, lobster from Norway and three different types of caviar – will cost you an eye-watering R180 000!
Whatever your budget and whatever your favourite topping, there’s no denying that pizza is one of the most loved and most versatile fast foods in the world. So, it’s no wonder that there is a whole day, February 9, dedicated to this cheesy disc of deliciousness.
In South Africa, pizza is the second most enjoyed fast food, just behind fried chicken and ahead of burgers, with favourite toppings being pepperoni, chicken, mushrooms, ham, pineapple, bacon, feta and avo. Although that queen of pizzas – the good old Margherita – still tops the polls when it comes to the most ordered pizza.
To celebrate National Pizza Day, the chefs from Capsicum Culinary Studio gave us a quick, simple, no-fuss pizza recipe below.
You’ll need:
10g packet of active dry yeast; 1 tsp white sugar; 1 cup warm water; 2½ cups bread flour; 2 tbs olive oil; 1 tsp salt; 1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese; tomato paste; preferred toppings – chopped ham, shredded chicken, mushrooms, olives etc
How to:
Preheat oven to 230°C. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until it froths (about 10 minutes). Stir in flour, salt and oil and combine until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 6-8 equal size pieces. Stretch or roll out each one until very thin
Carefully transfer to a lightly greased pizza pan. Spread the base with tomato paste and cover with grated mozzarella cheese.
Top with other desired ingredients (except if using avo – which you add after the pizza is cooked)
Chef’s tips: Avoid adding fresh tomato before baking as they will make the base soggy.
For a crispy base, brush the raw pizza dough with a mix of olive oil and crushed garlic before adding the toppings.
