Ingredients
-
500g Passata
-
3 cloves GarlicBig fat ones, crushed
-
1 Tsp Oregano
-
1 Tsp Dried Basil
-
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
-
4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-
Small bunch Fresh BasilFinely chopped
-
0.5 Tsp Sugar
-
to taste, Salt
-
to taste, Pepper
Directions
Pizza sauce is one of those things that can make or break a good pizza experience but don’t worry, there’s no such thing as a bad pizza. If you want a great pizza though, try my awesome pizza suace.
I was staying in Ballyhornan Scout Centre recently with my group. Ballyhornan is a great site, near Ardglass, metres from Ballyhornan Beach. The Scout Centre has a pretty cool feature, a pizza oven! We, the leader team, decided that for supper that night we would do pizzas.
Preheating the oven!
At home I love making pizzas and if you fancy going completely from scratch, I use Jamie Oliver’s Pizza Dough Recipe when I’m making my own. Though maybe use a bowl, half of the time when I do this, the ‘well’ he describes breaks and I end up with a bit of a mess. You can also buy ready-to-use pizza bases but we were making 15 pizzas so that could get expensive. Thankfully, we have such a close knit Scouting county that there are past Scouts everywhere. I approached the Pizza Place in Lenadoon and asked if I coud buy some dough. I met the owner last week at the Scout Cooking Competition. Jim was one of the judges. But he wouldn’t hear of it! He insisted I take the dough for free, he also lent us a paddle for the oven! Jim’s generousity stems from his fond memories of Scouting. He confided in me saying, “I always loved cooking in Scouts. Some of the best years of my life!” Well, thanks to Jim, our young Scouts will hopefully have similar fond memories!
My awesome pizza sauce among some other toppings
We had created a bit of a pizza bar for our young people. They had to scrape their dough ball from the tray (I used a 70p plastic wallpaper scraper for this) and then stretch it out. This bit was hard for them and we had some oddly shaped pizzas! Next they chose their toppings. We had two types of pizza sauce. I’ve spent years working and volunteering with children so I understand that some don’t eat some things. My Awesome pizzas sauce is delicious if you like flavour. Some children hate flavour and only what plain things. It’s weird I know. So we had one bowl of awesome pizza sauce and one bowl of blended chopped tomatoes.
Making the pizzas circular proved difficult!
Everyone enjoyed making their own pizzas!
After that, they could choose from a selection of cheeses, meats and vegetables. It was so surprising hearing how many people didn’t know what mozzarella looked like!
The best looking one of the night!
A wood-fired pizza oven is the perfect place to use this awesome pizza sauce but it will work just as well at home. I recently used the exact same sauce recipe at a calzone dinner party! The garlic, herby pizza sauce is perfect for a pepperoni pizza but also works just as well with a Napoli or a veggie pizza.
Waiting patiently!
Steps
|
1
Done
|
In a pan, add the oil and let it heat up. Add the dry herbs and garlic and fry for 1 minutes, letting all of the aromas release. |
|
2
Done
|
After a minute or when the garlic looks cooked, add the passata, and let simmer for a few minutes. |
|
3
Done
|
Add the vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper to taste. The sugar will help balance the sauce with the acidic tomatoes and vinegar, it shouldn't taste sweet. Taste often at this stage. The sauce will be spread over the pizza and under the toppings. I like it not too salty but quite peppery. |
|
4
Done
|
Get your awesome pizza sauce off the heat and add the finely chopped fresh basil. Set aside until you need it. In a sealed container in the fridge, I'd expect this sauce to last 4-7 days, so it's a good one for planning ahead. |
|
5
Done
|
TIPDon't be afraid to mix this sauce up a bit. Add chilli flakes for a fiery hot sauce or if you're a fan, you could chop some anchovies through it for a salty kick. |
