Who doesn’t love a Pizza! This recipe for homemade Pizzas will soon become a firm favourite with everyone in your household…
Pizza is generally seen as a ‘bad’ or ‘treat’ food, but it really needn’t be if you make them yourself. Take away pizzas tend to be loaded with salt and copious amount of cheese, atop a refined carbohydrate, pillow deep, doughy base. All the things we try to avoid if we are taking care to make healthy choices in our diet.
About the Ingredients
Using a flatbread as a base gives this delicious, health conscious pizza, a tasty crispness, whilst fulfilling its carbohydrate role perfectly. I like to use Wholemeal flatbreads, for extra saintly value. I first discovered Lebanese flatbreads, while living in Australia, the home of fresh and healthy cuisine. Using these has enabled pizza to become a regular fixture on our menu at home. When my kids were younger, they would love to help with putting on their own toppings, and as teenagers that hasn’t changed! I don’t think you should deny kids certain foods, in my experience this makes them feel like they’re missing out, and want it even more (I learnt that the hard way!). By giving them the healthiest version of that food you can, you are feeding that craving with peace of mind.
For pizza toppings, I firstly use passata for the tomato base. I buy ready made, as many are simply sieved tomatoes, with no added nastiness. Feel free to season this if you feel it’s needed. They also come with added flavours, like basil, which is a particular favourite of mine. Having a passion for all things spicy, I like to add some chilli sauce to my passata, it really packs a punch to the overall pizza. Then comes the cheese. I use either grated or sliced mozzarella. I don’t ever use reduced fat, as it doesn’t melt! Not overloading with cheese is key here. Too much, and your pizza base will be soggy, and your fat content sky high. Be modest with it.
Toppings
Now the fun part! What to add to your margarita pizza base?? Our family tends to all want different things, so I get in a good selection of topping to suit everyone’s taste. See recipe below, for our choices. If you are a ‘meat feast’ pizza kind of person, I would recommend going for the thinly sliced cuts of continental meats. Prosciutto or Parma ham, are great substitutes for regular ham. They have great flavour and are very thinly sliced, so you will need to use less. I also prefer thinly sliced chorizo, rather than pepperoni, as it has a rich, smoky flavour. As for vegetables, knock yourself out here! Sweetcorn, peppers, onion, spinach, mushrooms, courgettes, the list is endless. Olives and roasted peppers are also a mouthwatering addition.
These pizzas really are so simple to make, I’m not sure there is really much need for a ‘recipe’, but I have given one here more as a guide, and suggestion for toppings. Have fun making them. Enjoy x
Homemade Flatbread Pizzas
Ingredients
- Flatbreads
- Passata
- Grated Mozzarella
- Toppings as desired, we have used:
- Prosciutto
- Thinly Sliced Chorizo
- Fresh Figs, thinly sliced
- Soft Goats Cheese, thickly sliced
- Caramelised Red Onions
- Sweetcorn
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C, 180°C Fan
Place flatbreads on Pizza trays or baking sheets
Add roughly 2 tablespoon of passata to each base (this will vary according to size of your flatbreads). Using back of the spoon, spread passata over base – careful here not to go right to the edge, leave approx. 1cm gap, to avoid it spilling over when cooking.
Sprinkle over the grated mozzarella, again not going right to edge of base.
Add your toppings, but don’t overload to ensure everything gets cooked through evenly.
Suggestions: We made Goats cheese, sliced fig and caramelised red onion, Prosciutto and sweetcorn, and thinly sliced Chorizo straight up.
Cook in the oven for approx. 15-20 mins. Again this will vary depending on the size of your pizza, and how generous you have been with your toppings.
Slice with a pizza wheel, and serve!
Fiona Lyne - A lover of healthy living, interiors, fitness, fashion and food.