As Vito Cataffo in Channel 4 show, Dolce Vito, attempts to sell Brit dishes to Italians, 4Food has a go at cooking up cultural harmony, recreating classic British dishes in pizza form…
Having previously created a Christmas dinner pizza I feel I’ve covered that most typically British meal – the roast – and learnt that, whilst tasty, a roast meat and gravy pizza is a bit, well, brown. This time I opted for more vibrant dishes and baked a Ploughman’s lunch pizza, an English breakfast pizza and – for afters – a trifle pizza.
Bring on the Branstons
Since cheese is a key component of the Ploughman’s, the transition from salad to pizza was not too earth-shattering. The final creation looked like a vinegar-charged version of the classic tomato-free pizza bianca. Apple sauce and pickle added moistness and man-sized chunks of quality ham made this a dish fit for the hungriest farm hand.
The Full English
And so to breakfast. If there’s a better hangover cure than this, I want to see it. Sure, the base layer of beans makes it a knife and fork job, but what’s a little cutlery between pan-European friends? For maximum breakfast satisfaction, the bacon and black pudding were pre-grilled and the baking tray buttered for a sort of fried-bread-meets-toast effect. But the star of this show is the egg. Crack a free-range uovo into a mug then carefully tip it onto the pizza and pop it all into the oven – the white is free from fried-egg rubberiness and the yolk was perfect for dipping crust soldiers into.
Good’un for puddin’
Domino’s launched an Oreo pizza in the States but UK pizzerias are less bothered about indulging our sweet tooth. Having tried this pudding pizza I really don’t know why. It’s fantastic. It truly is. In fact, one tester thought it was better than actual trifle because it had bite without the unpleasant mouth-feel of soggy sponge cake. If you’re making it prepare for a gooey, sloppy mouthful you’ll definitely want seconds of. Don’t forget the hundreds and thousands though – it’s just not a proper trifle pizza without them.
DIY Britalian pizzas
All bases were made using Jamie’s pizza dough recipe
Ploughman’s lunch pizza
Serves 2
Ingredients
250g grated Cheddar
5 large pickled onions, sliced
5 tbsp apple sauce
5 tbsp pickle
150g thickly cut ham
200g watercress
Method: How to make Ploughman’s lunch pizza
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Roll out the dough and place onto a lightly greased baking tray.
2. Scatter the grated Cheddar over the base and arrange all the other toppings – except the watercress – in an attractive manner on top of the cheese.
3. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Scatter watercress over the top and tuck in.
Full English breakfast pizza
Serves 2
Ingredients
5 rashers streaky bacon
150g black pudding
3 tomatoes, sliced
1 tbsp butter
1 tin of baked beans
1 free range egg
Method: How to make full English breakfast pizza
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Grill the bacon and black pudding until they are fully cooked.
3. Fry the tomatoes until they are soft and about to caramelise at the edges.
4. Butter the baking tray and roll out the pizza dough.
5. Spread the baked beans over the pizza base and top with the bacon, black pudding and tomatoes.
6. Crack the egg into a mug and carefully tip it out onto the centre of the pizza. Keep the lip of the mug as close as possible to the pizza to help keep the egg in one piece.
7. Bake for 20 minutes.
Trifle pizza
Serves 2
Ingredients
25g golden caster sugar
250ml custard
298g tin mandarin segments
100g strawberry jelly
Whipped cream
Glacier cherries
Hundreds and thousands
Method: How to make trifle pizza
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Roll out the dough and place onto a lightly greased baking tray.
3. Sprinkle the sugar over the base and bake for 3-5 minutes until the sugar starts to cook into the dough.
4. Remove from the oven and cover the base with custard. Scatter the mandarin slices over the custard topping.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. When ready, remove the pizza from the oven and top with whipped cream, cherries and hundreds and thousands.
Comments
It’s pretty sad to see us Brits desparately trying to compare our bland culinary creations with Italian food by designig a pol which compares our best with their worst. Lets face it, the only reason there are so many good British Chefs is because they all have to absorb their knowlege and inspiration from every other culinary culture. An Italian does not bother learning to cook french or Thai because his mothers food is always best…
Leave a comment
* Required field.