This Home Made Pizza is rather loaded with toppings so much so that we could rename it the Saturday Night Fever one, especially since it is a House favourite on our Saturdays Film Nights. It is colourful, full packed of Veg, yet Beefy at the same time.

Putting it all Together
Beef and Sweet Bell Pepper Pizza.
Timing
  • Preptime: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Cooktime: 15-20 minutes.
  • Servings: 2-4 portions
Ingredients

For the Pizza Dough:

1 kg of 00 White Bread Flour and 200g of fine Semolina Flour.

Sea Salt finely grinded, 1 tea spoon.

14g of Dried Yeast.

4 to 5 table spoons of Olive Oil. Extra Virgin preferrably.

1 tablespoon of fine golden Caster Sugar.

A good pinch or two of Dried Herbs of your choice, I usually go for Dried Marjoram and Dried Oregano.

Still Mineral Water at room temperature. 650ml to 700ml.

For the Tomato Sauce:

750g to 1kg of Tomatoes (Plum varieties like San Marzano), chopped.

2 Escalion Shallots, chopped.

2 Garlic Cloves peeled.

Sea Salt and Black Peppercorns, crushed.

A Fair few fresh Basil Leaves, chopped.

A little Virgin Olive Oil.

A Spoonfull of Brown Sugar.

A Tablespoon or two of Tomato Purée.

For the Topping:

500g to 750g of Minced Beef.

1 Yellow Pepper.

1 Red Pepper.

2 to 4 Tomatoes. Quartered.

1 to 2 Red Onions.

A handful of pitted Black Olives.

200g of small Chestnut Mushrooms, sliced.

4 Mozzarella Cheese Medium size Balls or 2 Maxi Large ones.

Grated Parmesan to your liking.

Pinches of Oregano and/ or Marjoram.

 

 

Steps

The first thing to prepare is the Pizza Dough if you want to do it manually rather than Shop buy it. 

Sieve your two types of Flour along with the Salt together but keep aside a little of the Semolina. The leftover Semolina will be used on your Pizza tray prior to put it in the oven. It prevents the Pizza to stick upon the tray and shall we say to quote Mary Berry 'The soggy bottom' effect when she speaks about Cakes and Tarts.

Make a well in the middle of your Flours then in a bowl prepare your raising agent, the main one is the Yeast. Pour your Water in first in the bowl, add your Yeast, Sugar and Olive Oil, mix and leave to rest for a few minutes.

Meanwhile return to your Flour and add the Dried Herbs you wish to flavour your Dough with. I tend to go for Mediterranean Herbs, mainly Oregano and Marjoram. 

Then gradually insert and mix your Yeast Mix to your Flour to form a Dough. Use a fork or a wooden spoon to do so. When you have a Dough ball then knead it upon a floured surface with floured hands. 

The Dough should be smooth when it is ready to prove and rest. Put it in a floured bowl at room temperature covered with cling film. Within a hour the Dough will have doubled in size and be ready to use. Or you can knock it back, work the Dough more and put it for a second proving of roughly half an hour by placing the clinged film bowl in the fridge. This will make a crispier Pizza.

Meanwhile when the Dough is proving, it gives time to prepare the other Ingredients starting with the Minced Meat. Within a bowl put the Minced Beef in, add to it Seasoning: Sea Salt, Pepper, a good pinch or two of Oregano. Optional is Smoked Paprika, a teaspoon of it. Then a Garlic Clove very finely chopped goes in. Mix everything within the Beef with your hands, and rather gently. 

Put a skillet upon the stove with a little Oil but not much, heat the pan then add your Minced Beef. With a Spatula seperate the Beef into little chunks which you want to brown but not to cook fully. They will finish cooking on top of the Pizza. So put them aside once partly cooked.

Then comes the chopping time. Deseed the Sweet Bell Peppers and chopped them into strips. I would say thinner the better, with an average of 5 mm thickness give or take. But don't take your ruler out to measure anything precisely.

Peel and chop the Red Onions and the Shallots. Peel and chop a Garlic Clove.

Start on the Tomato Sauce by dicing the Tomatoes but reserve two or three for later.

Put a deep pan upon the stove with a little Olive Oil and start by cooking a little your chopped Shallots and Garlic. Then add your diced Tomatoes. Chop your Basil and add to the pan. You can also add a tablespoon of Tomato Purée for a deeper flavour. Season well your Tomato Sauce.

Prepare your other Ingredients. Chop the other remaining Tomatoes. Clean or peel the Chestnut Mushrooms before slicing them.

You can use either fresh Marjoram and/or Oregano, if so take the leaves off and keep them aside.

The Dough will be ready by then. Flour a surface in order to stretch it but also flour your hands in order to deal with the Pizza Dough. Have Pizza trays ready by spraying some Olive Oil upon them and sprinkling some Cormeal or dry Semolina on the trays.

Stretch your Dough to fit your trays then place your circles of Pizza Dough upon the prepared trays.

Preheat your oven to gas mark 5.

Your Tomato Sauce will be ready by then to be removed from the stove, let it cool a little.

Grate your Parmesan Cheese and drain your Mozzarella Cheese.

It is time to build the Pizza. Start by spreading the Tomato Sauce with a spatula from the centre to near the edge of the Pizza. I would say, give or take, to leave a edge of about one cm.

Next comes the Cheese, Mozzarella first. There it is just a matter of taring it apart in little chunks which will melt once in the oven. Add the grated Parmesan which will give a welcomed nutiness flavour to the Pizza.

Then think of decorating a Pizza rather than pilling the Ingredients upon it. It is simple comfort food yes but it does still have somehow to be pleasing for the eyes. Place the pieces of Minced Beef first then your Red Onions, then your Sweet Peppers. Diced Tomatoes comes next along with the sliced Mushrooms.

The finishing touches are the Olives, the Herbs and a drizzle of Olive Oil. 

Place your Pizza in the oven then all will be ready and cooked within 15 minutes.

The last part is just to serve the Pizzas to enjoy them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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