A little hip Italian dish

Today I made pizza for the 'hips' dinner. Wow, what an achievement (not) I hear you say. But, for me, it was. You see, I made my own pizza dough, and you know, I am not sure if I've ever done that before. And then, it got me thinking. Of course, as we all know, pizza is Italian, and as I am always on about learning languages, and absorbing yourself into the culture before visiting the destination, I thought that perhaps I should add a few recipes from different parts of the world, to go with the travel / learning about cultures / languages and places, posts. The idea is to make them fairly simple, so that not only can I cook them, but you will be more inclined to cook them, and perhaps involve the kids aswell. Should anyone have any much loved childhood dishes from your home, or know of any international specialities, then, I would love to hear from you too.

Best to add a tomato based sauce from either tinned tomatoes, or a tomato paste mixed with whatever you choose (I added garlic, fresh herbs, salt, pepper and a bit of Worcester sauce.) Top with whatever you have available in the fridge. I got the kids to add their favourites which ended up being mushrooms, pineapple, ham and alot of cheese.

So here's the very first recipe - Italian Pizza with topping of your choice.  

Egg free, Nut free.

Great budget meal as mixture is enough for several pizzas, so I popped excess dough into the freezer for another day.

• 500g plain flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 11/2 teaspoon dry yeast

• Pinch sugar

• 11/4 cup warm water

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Add yeast and warm water into a bowl, add a pinch of sugar, and stir with a wooden spoon quickly then leave to activate (approx 5 min).

With either a hand mixer with dough hook, or Kitchen Aid, add the flour and salt, and mix. When the yeast has activated (starts to foam) pour it in the flour and mix on low speed adding 1 tablespoon of oil at a time until it forms into a ball.

Remove from bowl and kneed for 3-5 minutes, until the dough is soft and pliable. Get the kids involved...they'll love it.

Sprinkle a little bit of flour back in the bowl, and add the dough, cover with glad wrap and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes. (We left it in the garden as it was a super hot day today!)

It should double in size, so then cut the dough in half, and roll out to make your pizza base. Place dough onto your oven tray and add a sauce and topping.

Best to add a tomato based sauce from either tinned tomatoes, or a tomato paste mixed with whatever you choose (I added garlic, fresh herbs, salt, pepper and a bit of Worcester sauce.)

 Top with whatever you have available in the fridge. I got the kids to add their favourites which ended up being mushrooms, pineapple, ham and alot of cheese. Cook on 200 for about 25 mins.