The Captain and I love the al fresco life. We have a terrace outside our bedroom, overlooking the Valley, and over the years we have gradually pimped the space. For the last few years we’ve had a chimenea fire and a barbecue, and we’ve had some wonderful evenings up there, with good food and a glass of wine as the sun goes down. But for a while I’ve been hankering after a wood fired oven, to extend my al fresco repertoire beyond barbecuing and smoking. And salads of course. I make pretty good barbecues and salads, but my dream was to have fresh pizza straight out of a wood fired oven on our terrace.
The good news is that dreams do come true. The Captain bought us a pizza oven for Christmas – after researching what was available and what would suit our space best, he’d chosen one from Ooni, and it is perfect for our needs.
Midwinter in Scotland might seem sub optimal when it comes to al fresco dining, but there is something just magical about wrapping up warm, putting out the awning (to protect from the inevitable rain) and huddling next to the fire, watching the moon rise and cooking and eating fresh pizza.
And the other thing about going for it with pizzas at this time of year is all those leftovers! Don’t be boxed in by what you think of as sensible pizza toppings – see what you’ve got in the fridge, decide if you’d like them together and go for it. This is how I discovered the joy of a black pudding and brussel sprout pizza!
I’m not a purist when it comes to pizza dough – sometimes I make my own entirely by hand, on those days when 10 minutes kneading dough will help de-stress. Other days I pop the ingredients in the bread machine and let it do the work.
What I’ve discovered makes the most difference is making a really good pizza sauce – in the past I’ve zizzed up a tin of tomatoes, or used a passata… and while both of these are fine, they are a bit too watery and can make the pizza base go soggy. So my top tip is to take the time to cook some good pizza sauce while your dough is resting or rising or proving or whatever.
If you don’t ‘have a wood fired pizza oven, don’t despair – home made pizza is pretty good made in any really hot oven.
Pizza dough
Ingredients
- 250ml water (or use slightly less water, and slug in some sourdough starter)
- 1-2 TBsp oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 TBsp sugar
- about 425g strong white flour
- 1 tsp yeast
Directions
Put the ingredients in the pan of your bread machine in the order they are listed above and hit the button for pizza dough.
When it’s ready, take the dough out and separate it into 2 or 3 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, and place it in a bowl (which you’ve drizzled a wee bit of oil in the bottom). Cover each bowl with a damp tea towel, or a lid, or a plate, or cling film, or beeswax wraps, or whatever suits your environmental aesthetic, and leave for about half an hour. Don’t worry about timings too much. At the end of the time you’re going to turn each doughy ball into pizza.
Brilliant Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 (or more) garlic cloves, slightly chopped
- 2 TBsp oil
- 2 large tins of chopped plum tomatoes
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- your choice of herbs or spices – I like to add a wee bit of chilli, but mediterranean herbs would also be good
Directions
- Put the oil in heavy based pan over a medium heat
- Add the garlic and sweat for a wee minute. Don’t let it burn, just soften it in the oil
- Add the other ingredients
- Simmer for 20 minutes or so until it looks thick and bright dark red
- Leave to cool
I make loads of this pizza sauce and keep it in a tub in the fridge – as well as pizza it’s found it’s way into the most amazing quiche (pizza sauce, caramelised onions, cheddar cheese and an egg/philadelphia cheese custard poured into a short pastry case), and also mixed in with pasta and some tuna as a midweek pasta bake.
You know how to make pizza, don’t you? I thought I did, but what I didn’t know well enough was that when you’re using a peel, to put the pizza into the oven, you need to make sure that peel has PLENTY of polenta on it, or you will never slide the pizza off the peel and onto the stone in the oven. The other thing I’ve discovered is that less can be so much more on a pizza – just a couple of good ingredients can be so much more satisfying than piling too much on.
Some toppings we like:
- Black pudding and shredded brussel sprouts
- Parma ham and mushrooms (and then add rocket once it;s out of the oven)
- Goats cheese and beetroot
- Blue cheese (preferably gorgonzola) and pear, maybe some ham too
Want more recipes? Perhaps a quick midweek dinner? Or easy peasy biscuits? Just head here and have a browse.
Shewolfinthevalley 