Home-made pizza with pepperoni, feta & mint

A couple of weeks ago now, I spent a long weekend in Melbourne visiting my brother and his family. 

I had a wonderful time while I was there.  Time spent with the family, sightseeing and visiting some of the amazing restaurants and cafes the city has to offer like this and this was good for the soul.

I’ve only visited Melbourne a handful of times, however each time it surprises me how strangely at home I feel when I’m there.  I think it pulls at my heartstrings a little because it reminds me a little of second home back in London.  But before I become too nostalgic (and off track), the reason I’m sharing this with you is that the inspiration for today’s post came from my recent visit. 

On my first night in town we went out for pizza.  My brother is fortunate to live near a really great pizza joint, Pizza Religion and the place was buzzing.  If you find yourself in the neighbourhood, you should stop in for a bite.  Anyway, we arrived late so had lost our reservation, but they were nice enough to squeeze us in on a shared table. 

To cut a long story short, I’ve been obsessing about one of their pizzas since then.  So much so that this week I went out and bought a pizza stone with the sole intent to reproduce that pizza from scratch at home here in Sydney. I’m sure if I tried hard enough I could find a similar pizza here, but I’ve not come across this combination at any of my local pizzerias before.  And besides, where’s the fun in that?!

I think it was the combination of the hot pepperoni with the cooling mint that won me over, and the goats cheese, well that was just the icing on the cake!

Anyway, this is the first attempt of my Home-made pizza with pepperoni, feta & mint. 

I had fun making my own pizza bases using the recipe that was provided on the box of my newly purchased pizza stone. However, you could easily use store bought bases if you prefer.

My only criticism of my first attempt is that I should have been a bit more generous on the toppings, but otherwise they were pretty darn delicious.

Enjoy x

Home-made pepperoni pizza with feta and fresh mint

2014-07-23 16:38:45

Yields 2

A simple pizza packed with flavour.

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Ingredients

For the pizza sauce

1. 400g canned tomatoes (whole or diced)
2. 2 tsp tomato paste
3. 1 clove garlic
4. 1 tsp dried oregano
5. salt & pepper to taste

For the pizza

1. 2 x 22 cm pizza bases
2. Tomato sauce (directions below)
3. 50g pepperoni, thinly sliced
4. 150g cherry tomatoes, halved
5. 100-150g feta (or other goats cheese)
6. A handful of mint leaves
7. Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

For the pizza sauce

1. Using a blender or small food processor, blend all of the ingredients together.
2. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium-high heat.
3. Reduce the temperature and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Season well with salt and pepper.
5. Remove from heat.

For the pizzas

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. Place your pizza stone in the oven and preheat for 15-20 minute.
3. To make the pizza, remove the pizza stone from the oven and carefully place the pizza base directly onto the hot stone.
4. Generously spread the sauce on the pizza base, then scatter the pepperoni slices and crumbled goats cheese over the pizza.
5. Return the pizza stone (this time with base) to the oven and cook for 15 – 20 minutes*.
6. Remove from the oven and garnish with mint leaves and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
7. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. *I made my own pizza bases. If you are using ready made bases, be sure to adjust the cooking time to that suggested on the packaging.
2. If you don’t own a pizza stone, I’d recommend in investing in one. The difference it makes to the finished pizza is amazing. They’re relatively inexpensive as well. I picked mine up on sale for AUD14.
3. However, if you don’t own a pizza stone, you can use an oven sheet lined with foil or baking paper, although you may have to adjust the cooking time slightly.

A Sweet Muddle http://www.asweetmuddle.com/