Monday 9 December 2013

PIZZAMANIA #1 Spicy BBQ Chicken or Prawn




Welcome to my Pizzeria. Eat as you Like!!

Does that give you a run?? LOL; Just Kidding. I don't  own one yet, but neither do we get pizza takouts for our dinner anymore. We bake our own pizzas.Yes! and from that time we have never looked back.
Unless it's a real good gourmet pizza from some good Italian hang out. But, that is only occasional. For my money I like my own, fresh and sizzling from the oven.
Once you discover the secret of baking your own pizza at home you will have to agree that it is many times better than any casual take out.You can choose your own sauce, toppings, add as much toppings as you like, more cheese, and just the right taste loaded with full flavour to say the least.

Great for your Friday nights or weekends or may be whenever you are just not in a mood to cook anything elaborate. Just slump back on your couch with a glass of wine, put your feet up and bite on to a spicy tangy cheesy slice.

Perfect party food. Layer your pizzas and keep it ready just prior to your guests arrival. Pop it in the oven before serving. It is sure to impress!

To keep things simple I  use store bought pizza base. Never tried my hands yet on making a dough. One day, may be! There are plenty available in the market. Thick crust, thin crust, low fat , more fat , choose your own base. I always have a couple sitting in my fridge. Quite handy for those real last minutes. 


There is no perfect recipe for making a pizza at home. Use your own creative ideas.You will just need some clever toppings, good quality pizza cheese, choice of sauce and your delicious pizza will be ready in minutes.Even the husbands can do it!The purpose behind this post is just to share a few ideas. I hope you like them.
 
It is a also an excellent way to engage kids in food preparation. Although it can get a lil messy, but they love it. My little chaffy daughter, her favourite is to layer "chiishh" (cheese) on "pissha" (pizzas) as she would say.  This way they feel more involved being part of the family, eat well, and this also helps in boosting their self confidence. Moreover I don't have to stress about feeding them. And because it is home-made you can flavour it up as they would like and share it guilt free.
 
So, today's recipe is a Spicy BBQ Chicken Pizza. For a BBQ Prawn just replace Chicken with Prawns.
 
You will need:
 
A Round Pizza Base medium (approx. 8 slices)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil to brush on the base
Chicken breast ( cut in to strips lengthwise, approx. 24 nos, 3 per slice)
Good quality Pizza Cheese( I use a 4 Cheese blend: Mozzarellas ,Tasty Cheddar and Romano.)
 
To marinate your chicken you will need:
 
Chicken pcs( as above)
1heaped teaspoon garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon Hot Chilli sauce- Optional (if making for kids use a mild, or sweet chilli)
1 teaspoon Crushed Chilli paste ( for more heat, optional )
2 tablespoon BBQ sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ( or any light mustard paste)
Freshly ground black pepper to season. 
1 tablespoon chopped coriander
Wedge of Lemon to squeeze
Mix all ingredients with chicken or prawn, cover and set aside.
 
 

For Toppings you will need :
 
2-3 spring onions chopped or half red onion chopped
1/2 red and 1/2 green capsicum chopped
2-3 tablespoon Black (Kallamatta Olives) cut into small rings
Slices of fresh tomatoes (1 for each slice of pizza : 8-9 slices depending on the size of the base) 
Seasoning of salt and pepper
If you want you may, in 2 separate bowls coat the onions and capsicums with seasoning and olive oil.
 
For the Base:
 
A Pizza Tray
Place a round base on the tray as mentioned above (always follow baking instruction behind the pack)
Brush olive oil to cover the base. This will make the base crisp and prevent from burning.
Combination of Sauce:
1 tablespoon Romano cheese classic tomato pasta sauce ( or any other tomato sauce)
1 tablespoon BBQ sauce
(I have used a combination of two sauces here. You can use any one if you like, or anyother flavour sauce you fancy. e.g. Hoisin, sweet chilli, all work well)
Cover the base and spread the sauce evenly including the edge of the base. Use a brush or a butter knife.If you want spread a generous amount of cheese first before starting to layer your pizza. This step is OPTIONAL. Make sure to spread your cheese evenly on the base covering the edges.
 
PREHEAT OVEN at 250 degrees
 
Start layering your pizza. The step wise pictures below might be of help;
Step 1 :
Layer of sauce. Use one or combination of two.
Step2:
Spread your sauce well around the edges. Spread evenly.
Additional Step
Add layer of Cheese (optional).spread evenly along side of the edges .Not included in the picture
Step3:
Layer your onions and capsicums. Spread evenly on the base. Including the edges
Step4:
Arrange the tomato slices as shown in the picture.
Step 5:
Layer your chicken pcs and spread the olives . 3 pcs per slice.
Step 6
Spread cheese evenly to bind everything together. Sprinkle chopped coriander. Season with pepper.


Turn your oven temperature down to 200 degrees. Place your pizza tray in the oven. Bake as per instruction behind the pack of your Pizza Base).Mine said 10-12 mins.When the cheese has melted and starts to brown lightly from the edges you can carefully remove from oven. Always use oven gloves to remove tray from oven and place your tray on a placement mat or slide on a wooden pizza base. Sprinkle some more herbs if you like.


The Spicy BBQ Prawns with Capsicum, Tomatoes, Spanish Onion (Red Onion) . Too good to resist!


Try some variations:
Baking Pizza at home is fun! Make your own. Play around with colours, textures and flavours. The end product should look nice and taste good. That's it.The pizza below has a tomato sauce base and for toppings :Pineapple, bacon, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and kallamatta olives.


The one above has tomato slices , Mushrooms Olives, Red Onions and Green Bell Pepper with a base of Chilli  BBQ sauce. It's a Vegan Options. You can even experiment with some store bought white sauces, such as Alfredo or Creamy Carbonara. (These are meant for pasta but great as a pizza base). More on this in my next post!

 
Hope you enjoy your favourite pizzas at home soon. Would love to hear about your special pizza story! I am already salivating looking at these pictures and drafting my post. My pizza craving needs urgent attention. Talk soon. Have a lovely day! 
 

Enjoy….

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With deep care

EAT as you LIKE


5 comments:

  1. looks hearty and delicious! the step by step instructions were so easy to follow I finally made it for a Sunday evening snack. It came out as yummy as it looks. The choice of fillings is limitless I guess. I went vegan this time but will surely try chicken next.
    Inspired by you, I took the risk of making the pizza sauce at home too ( happy to share the recipe if you like) and everything just worked great.
    thanks so much for the wonderful recipe! keep up the good work di...

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  2. Thank you Runa for leaving such wonderful feedback.. Yes please share the recipe for your pizza sauce...it must have tasted great.. I will definitely give it a go :-)

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  3. wow..awesome... dekhei banate ichhe korche..eta sure try korbo :)

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