Aldo Zilli's match night pizza 🍕
What could be more Italian than Pizza? Our second favourite Italian chef, Aldo Zilli has the perfect pizza masterclass ahead of Sunday’s big game.
Ingredients
For the pizza base:
150g strong bread or “00’ flour
½ tsp fast action dried yeast
½ tsp salt
½ tbsp oil
100ml warm water
50ml passata or blitzed tinned tomatoes
For a margherita pizza:
50ml passata or tinned tomatoes
Half a mozzarella ball, or any other grated cheese
Fresh basil leaves
For a rocket and parma ham pizza:
50ml passata or tinned tomatoes
Half a mozzarella ball, or any other grated cheese
3 tbsp parmesan
4 slices Parma ham
100g rocket leaves
For a pepperoni pizza:
50ml passata or tinned tomatoes
Half a mozzarella ball, or any other grated cheese
Sliced pepperoni
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Mix together the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Create a well in the middle then add the oil and most of the water. Use your hands to mix the dough together, adding more water as necessary to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for 5 minutes.
2. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave to rise until the dough has doubled in size, this will take about an hour.
3. Once risen, take the dough out, knead lightly again and shape into a ball. Put back into the greased bowl, cover again and leave in the fridge for 1 -1 ½ hours to rest.
4. Stretch out the rested dough using your hands, to roughly a 25cm circle, or roll out on a floured work surface with a rolling pin. Place on a large non-stick baking sheet.
5. Use the back of a large spoon to spread the tomato passata all over the pizza base, leaving a clear border around the edge. Season and add a little dried oregano if you like, then add the toppings of your choice.
6. To cook the pizza, bake for about 8 – 10 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 240C, 220C fan, Gas 8, or follow the manufacturer’s instructions if using a pizza oven.