Pizza night!!

Last night it was family pizza making night and everyone joined in. It was really good fun with flour puffing happily throughout my kitchen!! My family has diverse tastes and I often have to cook more than one type of dinner as I myself am the only vegetarian in the house, my youngest is super fussy and can't stand onions, peppers, mushrooms or anything spicy. My eldest luckily eats most things and my daughter doesn't like pizza. So our epic pizza making night ended up with a whole variety of dinners served, but as everyone was helping it didn't really make a lot of difference. 

The recipe for the pizza dough comes from Jamie Oliver's website, I use it whenever I make pizza or calzone, it never fails! And plus I love Jamie's recipes, he's super cool and I would love to invite him and his wife to a dinner party one day!! Better practise my cooking skills a bit more then!! 
Jamie Oliver's Pizza Dough Recipe

I have written the recipe for Pizza and Calzone as this is what we made last night, Calzone is a folded pizza, follow which ever recipe you prefer! Feel free to add/change your own toppings that's what I love about making pizza as it's each to their own. 

Pizza and Calzone Recipe
Follow the instructions for making the pizza dough on Jamie Oliver's website, use this link to take you there.

Jamie Oliver's Pizza Dough Recipe




Tomato Sauce Base

• 1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
• tomato puree
• 1 red onion
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• dried basil and oregano
• olive oil

Chop your onion and fry in a small saucepan in the olive oil. When the onions are almost turning golden, add your sliced garlic clove. Stir around until the garlic is mixed well with the onions, add your can of chopped tomatoes. Squeeze your tomato puree in and mix in the dried herbs, a teaspoon of each. Add black pepper to taste. Let the tomato sauce come to the boil then turn down the heat and let simmer for approx 15 mins. Keep stirring the sauce while it is cooking as you do not want it to stick. Once the sauce has simmered for 15 mins take off the heat and let cool down. Once the sauce is cool, use a hand blender to whizz the sauce to make a smooth puree. 

Keeping stirring the tomato sauce

I used a hand blender 
to puree the
cooled tomato sauce

Toppings
These toppings are to make a Spicy Chicken & Chorizo Calzone (or Pizza)

• mozzarella
• cheddar cheese
• black olives
• easy chopped chilis
• peppers cut into thin strips
• onions, sliced
• pesto
• leftover roast chicken
• chorizo
• olive oil to drizzle

Assembling the Pizza

Grease some baking trays using a drizzle of olive oil, set aside. When the pizza dough is ready, roll out onto a clean board. Use a ladle to spoon the tomato sauce onto the pizza, now you are ready to add your toppings!!

My son added his 
own toppings for his pizza,
 ham and sweetcorn. 

Assembling your Calzone

Roll out your dough as if you are making a pizza, try to get the dough as thin as you can. Use the ladle to add your tomato sauce, using the back of the ladle to spread the sauce over HALF of the pizza base. Using a teaspoon, drizzle some of the easy chopped chilli over your base, depending on how hot you like you calzone you can choose how much chilli to add. Next add your sliced chorizo, scatter over the base, then your cooked chicken. Add your peppers, olives and onions. Place your mozzarella slices evenly across your base, then finally add your cheddar cheese. 

Take hold of the side of the pizza base that has not been decorated and fold over the top of your half pizza. Starting at one end of the calzone, press the two edges together and twist the dough into the inside of your calzone. Keep going until you have created a frilly edge all the way around your calzone. Place onto your baking tray and then drizzle with olive oil. 

Vegetarian Alternative

I omit the chicken and chorizo and add extra veggies, mushrooms taste great. I Personally prefer to add pesto to my calzone rather that chilli and just dot this on the tomato sauce base before adding the vegetables and the cheese. 

Cooking Times

The calzones will take 15-20mins in a hot oven (200 degrees) and the pizzas 12-15 mins. 

What to do with left-over dough? 

Make dough-balls!! Roll the dough into bite size pieces, place on a baking tray drizzle with olive oil, these take 8-10 mins. Serve with garlic butter or alioli, yum!!!



There's nothing else to do except, chill out with a nice glass of red wine and enjoy your time with your family!!

Our family feast!! 

The Spicy Chicken and 
Chorizo Calzone

My eldest son choose to 
have his spicy chicken 
and chorizo toppings 
on a pizza