Electric Frypan Pizza

I came across a video clip in my Facebook feed the other day and I don’t know why, but I watched it. I normally don’t have time to watch video clips on Facebook but this one intrigued me. You see, someone made a pizza from scratch in their frypan which included mixing the dough right in the pan. I was a little skeptical but thought I’d adapt it to my brand new electric frypan and see how it turned out. It was one of those lazy Friday nights after a hectic week of school commitments so anything to save me time is always welcome.

You literally pour all the ingredients into your non stick frypan and stir. It can be a little gluggy but just take your time because the results are good.

Once all ingredients are combined form them into the shape of the frypan base. (I could’ve made mine a little thinner and spread it out a little more because I didn’t expect it to rise as much as it did.) Doesn’t matter if there’s holes in the base. They will join together upon cooking.

Top with your favourite pizza sauce.

And your favourite toppings. I just did half plain cheese and the other half cheese and salami. (At least the fussy daughter will eat cheese topped pizza now.)

Cook for 15 minutes and you’re done. The original recipe stated to cook for 5 minutes with ‘vents’ closed and then 10 minutes with ‘vents’ open. My frypan doesn’t have vents in the lid but if yours did, you could try it to see if it made any difference.

Nothing beats the flavour of a traditionally made pizza with a light crispy base but this is a pretty darn good alternative if you want something on the table in a hurry with a lot less washing up and waiting time. The kids were pretty pleased with it. Very crunchy bottom and a fluffy bread base. Like I said earlier, I’d probably spread the dough right out to the edge of the frypan to make it a bit thinner and just reduce the heat slightly so it doesn’t burn on the bottom. It may take a bit of experimenting with your stove top or electric frypan but definitely worth a go. I’m kicking myself I didn’t save the video clip so I can’t give credit to the person who created the video but I managed to scribble down the recipe.

Electric Frypan Pizza

• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup self raising flour
• 2/3 cup warm water
• pinch salt
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp dry yeast

• pizza sauce
• desired toppings

1. Put all pizza base ingredients into electric frypan and stir until combined.
2. Smooth over until a base is formed.
3. Spoon over pizza sauce and add desired toppings and top with cheese.
4. Cook for 15 minutes on a medium heat and cheese has melted.

(I doubled the quantities because my electric frypan is quite large.)

Turkish bread pizza {lahmacun}

I’ve seen recipes many times for lahmacun (Turkish flatbreads topped with a ground meat mixture and flavoured with Middle Eastern spices) but its just one of those things on my cooking ‘to do’ list. I always forget about it or I don’t have the necessary spices.

Source

When I was asked to try the sumac from Herbie’s Spices I knew straight away that I had to try this delicious Turkish meal. From Herbie’s web site:

Sumac of culinary use comes from a tree that grows in the Middle East. It is the outer flesh of the berry that is harvested when crimson. Sumac has a delicious, fruity, lemon-like tangyness. Sprinkle over salads, particularly avocado and tomato, and used to season white meats during cooking. Sumac forms a tasty crust when coated onto lamb joints before cooking. 

It is commonly used in nearly all Middle Eastern cuisines and is such a handy spice to have in your collection. I found this recipe from one of my favourite food channels here in Australia, SBS Food. I used to remember Mum always cooking us savoury mince on toast when she wanted a night off from cooking. No takeaways in those days. Just something quick and easy. I guess you could say this is a Turkish version. A lovely spicy ground beef mixture which I served on Turkish bread. or a Fmore authentic dish, you could make your own bread, which isn’t really that hard.

Top with a tossed salad and you’ve got a complete, quick, easy AND tasty meal. There are a few ingredients from this recipe that I didn’t have but looking up the handy Cook’s Thesaurus, I was able to substitute tahini for peanut butter and sesame oil and pomegranate molasses with balsamic vinegar. You don’t have to go without trying some of these exotic cuisines nor have a pantry full of various ingredients. Just make do with what you have or just leave it out. Don’t leave out the sumac though. It’s delicious.

I also like to have sumac in my pantry to make za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice blend that is good on so many things. It’s like the Egyptian dukkah. A blend of spices that is served as a condiment for many meals, or how I like to use it, sprinkled on Lebanese bread and served with a dip like hommous.

To make za’atar:

• Grind 1 tablespoon of roasted sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle.
• Then add 2 tablespoons dried thyme, 2 tablespoons of dried marjoram, 2 tablespoons dried oregano and 1 teaspoon of salt. (Recipe courtesy of About.com Middle Eastern food.)

For the ultimate spice experience, go online and buy your spices from Herbie’s Spices. You’ll find much more than just spices. There’s recipes, suggestions, kits and a whole lot more.

Disclaimer: I was supplied with a packet of sumac from Herbie’s Spices. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Easy ways to make Pizza

 

My Saturday night homemade pizza of pepperoni, olives, mushrooms and fresh tomato with mozzarella

I feel a sense of satisfaction as soon as I turn that oven on to bake something. One such thing I get a lot of enjoyment from, that is in the baking and the eating, is PIZZA. As a lover of Italian food,  pizza is just one of those things that can be made with anything at any time of the day or night and costs next to nothing to make. Even if you don’t have pizza dough or pizza bases, you can make a pizza out of just about anything. Here are some easy ways to make pizza.

[photo source]

Sure, the pizza takeaway chains have some pretty good deals but what about the taste? I really struggled to find a photo of what they really look like when you open the box. They never look like they do in the pictures at the store and half the time you don’t know if you’re eating the pizza or the cardboard box it came in. Nothing can taste as good as one you’ve made yourself and it’ll save you so much money.

[photo source]

This is the recipe for pizza dough that I like to use. To save on kneading time, I make it in the breadmaker, roll out and then freeze in individual portion sizes.

Breadmaker Pizza Dough

• 1.1/4 cups water
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cups flour
• 1.1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp yeast

1.  Add all ingredients, in order listed above, into breadmaker pan.
2. Make in breadmaker up until cooking stage.
3. Can be frozen into small balls and use as required.
4. When ready to make pizza, roll into desired shape, top with favourite toppings and bake in a hot, 220 deg C oven until cheese has melted.

2 Ingredient Pizza Dough

• 1 cup Greek yoghurt
• 1.5 cups self raising flour

1. Combine ingredients and mix well.
2. Turn out on a floured board and knead for 5 minutes or until dough comes together and is no longer sticky.
3. (If the dough is too sticky, add 1/2 cup of flour at a time until it is smooth.)
4. Roll out until about 1/4 inch thick, add toppings and bake in a 200 deg C oven until toppings have cooked and crust is golden brown.

[photo source]

 If making pizza bases isn’t your thing, something as simple as making pizzas using bread is an easy option. I’ve done this many times. Here are some more varieties on how to make pizza. Just think of anything suitable enough to hold the toppings like Lebanese bread, low carb cauliflower crust, bread rolls, flat bread, Turkish bread. The choices are endless.

[photo source]

 

Puff Pastry Pizza

 

  

 

[photo source]

 

 Calzone

 

 

 

[photo source]

Pizza Scrolls (use pizza dough or puff pastry)

 

 

 

[photo source]

 

As far as pizza toppings go, I like to keep them simple and use whatever I have on hand. I nearly always have mozzarella cheese in the freezer and if I don’t, I use plain cheddar cheese. I always have pepperoni, ham or bacon in the freezer. Any meat works well. Use whatever vegetables you have in the crisper like capsicum (bell peppers), onion, mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, fresh tomatoes, olives. If you don’t have pizza sauce or passata to top your pizza bases, use plain old tomato sauce (ketchup) or spruce it up with herbs or spices and/or chilli.

 

 

 

[photo source]

Whichever way you go, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, wholegrain, all meat, no meat, using a substitute for the pizza base, using ricotta cheese on top, pizza is a quick, cheap, tasty snack or meal that is easy to put together and easy to have on hand in the freezer, either partly made or made up ready to pop in the oven.