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Fried cheese pizza with chilli tomato sauce

Preparation time
1-2 hours

Cooking time
30 mins to 1 hour

Serves
Serves 2

By Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 400g/14oz strong flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 25g/1oz fresh yeast
  • 1 tsp salt

For the chilli tomato sauce

  • olive oil, for frying
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 1-2 red chillies, chopped
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • splash red wine vinegar
  • splash balsamic vinegar
  • 1 x 400g tin cherry tomatoes
  • 1 bunch basil
  • freshly ground black pepper

For the filling

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, sliced thinly
  • 100g/3½oz cooked artichoke hearts, sliced
  • 1 ball smoked mozzarella
  • 2 tbsp ricotta
  • 2 tbsp mascarpone
  • 50g/1¾oz diced fontina cheese
  • 2 tsp fresh oregano
  • neutral oil, for frying

To serve

  • 50g/1¾oz Parmesan, grated

Method

  1. To make the dough, tip the flour, yeast and salt into a bowl and pour in 250ml/9fl oz water. Mix well to form a dough. Knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes. Form into a ball, put into a clean bowl and leave to prove for at least 1 hour.

  2. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the onions, garlic, bay, chilli flakes and red chillies until soft. Stir in the tomato purée, then both the vinegars. Tip in the cherry tomatoes and simmer until thick.

  3. Push the sauce through a sieve back into the pan to make it super smooth. Taste, season and finish with the torn basil. Keep warm.

  4. To make the caramelised onions for the filling, heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onions. Fry gently for 30–40 minutes until soft, sweet and sticky.

  5. To finish the pizza, roll the risen dough into a large, thin round on a floured surface. Top with the caramelised onions and remaining filling ingredients. Fold the pizza in half and crimp the edges to seal, like a calzone.

  6. Heat some oil in a large frying pan and shallow fry the pizza on each side until crisp and golden. Or, fill a deep-fat fryer with oil and heat to 180C. Deep fry for 3–4 minutes until crisp and golden. CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.

  7. Sprinkle the fried pizza with the Parmesan and serve with the chilli tomato sauce alongside.

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