22 January 2012

Roasted vegetable pizza, peppers, aubergine, blush tomato, fresh basil, mozzarella.


Commonly known as a traditional Italian food, pizza didn't actually arrive in Italy until the 16th century, with the addition of tomatoes to leavened flat bread. Flavoured flat breads, including onions, garlic and herbs have dated back to over 3000 years ago to the ancient Greeks, The Middle East and Mediterranean cuisine. Now an immensely popular food all over the world, there is so much versatility, with different types of dough to many variants of sauces and toppings. Margherita, (dating back to 1889, created to honour the Italian Queen Margherita, was the first recipe to add cheese,  using tomatoes, mozzarella and basil to represent the colours of the Italian flag)  With more exotic and modern additions now appearing on menus, such as: Chicken Tikka, baked beans, lobster, Cajun pork, crispy duck, spinach and poached egg, you can see that the versatility is endless.

I was round friends last night with my lovely wife and we all fancied to have some pizza. I knocked up some granary dough to use as a base and with two vegetarians amongst us, it was an easy decision not to use meat,  selecting some delicious Mediterranean vegetables that I roasted off for the topping. Rather than a traditional tomato sauce, I spread the dough with some red pesto to give a great intense flavour. I  recently borrowed a great little camera lens from my good friend Jules for my Nikon 7000 and I thought it would make a great opportunity to give it a test run. (See my photos below)

I served freshly baked cheesy garlic bread, Avocado, cherry tomato and watercress salad with balsamic dressing and Cajun potato wedges alongside. A great treat to a Saturday night in left us all full and with a few slices left over to enjoy the next day. 





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