When you are an artist, your creativity knows no limits, it overflows to all areas of your life.
Perhaps I should one day attend a culinary class ’cause let’s face it, I really don’t know what I’m doing when I open the spice cabinet. So I usually stick to the basics (salt’n’peppa) plus some safe bet (cajun seasoning mix).
I don’t waste my time figuring out a name for something new I’m doing, I consult my taste buds after to see if it deserves one.
This time, it came as a big surprise : I impressed someone else so much with this totally improvised pizza experiment, that this person made a special order for another one a month later, apparently vividly remembering how exquisitely she enjoyed it the first time (kind of like a catchy chorus that’s stuck in your head lol). What I like about this particular instance, is that, to be honest, I didn’t put a ton of effort into it. No, it was nothing like my weird creations throwing maple syrup, mustard and/or peanut butter in the pan. In fact, this recipe is so fricking simple, it’ll make you choke!
And I’ll happily share my luck with you, so here is my random recipe for a DEEP DISH HOME MADE PIZZA.
Winning team of ingredients :
– nice big flat focaccia bread (reads olive oil in the composition, can include even olives inside, whatever appeals to you)
– marinara sauce (a.k.a spaghetti sauce)
– salt, pepper, Italian seasoning (+ crushed red peppers for the fire aficionados)
– toppings such as chopped onions, fresh tomatoes, olives, ham, chopped green pepper… random clearance items in your fridge
– cheese (I use Swiss, but American mozzarella works)
Your 9 ridiculously easy-cheasy steps :
1. Turn the oven on at around 360°F, I promise you’ll be done before it beeps.
2. Sprinkle a few drops of olive oil in the bottom of an oven platter, cut the focaccia bread in half along the length and lay flat.
3. Spread some marinara on top. Be generous with your layer as part of it will get absorbed into the bread.
4. Season with some salt (very lightly – remember your marinara already contains some), black pepper, Italian seasonings (you can be generous with that), and other optional additions (crushed red peppers).
5. Decorate tastefully with the toppings of your choosing. You can also save some of the black pepper and Italian seasonings to put on top of your veggies.
6. Cover up with a reliable layer of cheese.
7. Stick in the oven for about 15-20min.
8. When the cheese has completely melted and the bread has become a little crusty, turn bake off, and broil on normal or low so your cheese gets crusty too. This should only take a few minutes so don’t go anywhere so you don’t end up with a blackened version or a pizza on fire.
9. Take out of the oven, let it cool down a little bit, and LET YOUR TEETH SINK INTO A NICE CRUSTY BITE!
Now you tell me… how hard was that ? What toppings and variations did you come up with ? Did you get a special “thank you” from your kids, roommates, lover, dog ?
What do you think?