Pizza with Fennel Sausage, Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

Pizza is probably the most globally recognizable food today and was originally a food for the poor but it has now become a dish for everyone. Its existence started around the year 1000 in the city of Naples. At that time pizzas were prepared with lard, cheese and herbs. The pizza as we know it today was developed after the introduction of the tomato which originally came from the Andes. And of course, the most famous pizza of all is the “pizza Margherita”. According to the story, in 1889 the Italian monarch King Umberto and Queen Margherita were touring Naples. In order to impress them and to show his patriotic zeal, baker Raffaele chose to top flat bread with food that would best represent the colors of Italy: red (tomato), white (mozzarella cheese) and green (basil). The king and queen were so impressed that word quickly reached the masses. The end results were that the dish was well received and soon others began copying it. Click here for more pizza history. This recipe is adapted from the New Zealand food magazine, Dish.

Pizza, like any other dish, evolves differently when it’s brought to an environment other than the original one. It mingles with the customs, the culture and the ingredients of the new place. To witness this, all one has to do is visit another country and see which toppings are popular for that area.

Serves 6

Dough
400g flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Topping
1 cup thick Italian tomato sauce
500g Italian pork and fennel sausages
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1/2 cup torn basil leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ball fresh mozzarella, torn into pieces

For the dough, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine the water and oil and pour into the flour. Mix to form a soft dough, adding more water if necessary. Remove from bowl and place on a lightly floured wooden surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 200c. Halve the dough and roll out on a lightly floured wooden surface into 2 rectangles about 35cm x 12cm. Place on a lightly oiled baking tray. Spread both pizzas with tomato sauce. Take the sausages out of the casings, break into pieces and scatter over the dough. Cook pizzas for about 12 minutes or until the base is crispy and the sausage is cooked.

Meanwhile combine the tomatoes, garlic, basil, olives and the oil in a bowl and season to taste. Transfer the pizzas to a serving board and top with the tomato mixture. Serve immediately.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: Great flavors and nothing beats homemade pizza! I used my food processor to form the dough. The little white balls are fresh ‘pearl’ mozzarella…..a new size for moi! Get creative and use your favorite sausage!