Mushroom and Garlic White Pizza

Recently, a number of blogs have reminded me that there hasn’t been a pizza featured on frugalfeeding for quite some time. I don’t necessarily feel that an average, commonly found pizza has much of a place on food blogs, since everyone knows what they are and how to make them. This recipe, however, clearly isn’t average, since the base isn’t spread with tomato sauce. Instead, it is scattered with cheese that melts readily, such as cheddar or mozzarella. This is an idea which first came to my attention during a visit to a pizza café in Bristol, which served something similar to this, only with caramelised onions and less mushrooms and garlic. It was delicious and I’ve been fascinated with the idea ever since.

As you might imagine, the replacement of the tomato sauce on the base by a thin layer of cheese makes the whole pizza-eating experience that little bit lighter. In addition to this, it also has the effect of bringing to the fore the flavours of the topping; an admirable trait, to say the least. There is, of course, nothing wrong with making a pizza using tomato sauce, but it is a shame to disguise the flavour of some of the more delicious and delicately flavoured ingredients out there. You may be sceptical, but give it a try – it simply won’t disappoint. Then again, such a claim is only true if one is a fan of cheese.

I’d highly recommend making one’s own base for a pizza such as this; it would be such a shame to sully the overall effect with sub-par bread. Why not do what I did and follow a Jamie Oliver recipe, divide it into portions and freeze it for later use. In doing this, one can make enough pizza dough for 5-6 meals in around a couple of hours. Don’t be lazy, there’s no need for it.

On a different note, isn’t it brilliant that Nadal has crashed out of Wimbledon? To be honest, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes, but in my opinion, he showed just how petulant he can be when things aren’t going his way. The silly Spaniard.  Not that I have anything against Spaniards… or silly people.

Mushroom and Garlic White Pizza

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1 ball of pizza dough

• 80g mozzarella cheese

• A generous handful of mature cheddar cheese

• 150g chestnut mushrooms, quartered

• A clove of garlic, mashed

• A little olive oil

• A handful of rocket leaves, to serve

Method:

1. Begin by frying off the mushrooms and garlic in olive oil until the former have reduced in size and most of their water content has evaporated. Stretch out the pizza base and cover it with the cheese, leave a border of a few centimetres. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the top. Pop it in the oven at around 220C.

2. Once the top of the pizza is golden, the cheese has melted and the base is hard remove the pizza from the oven. Top it with a handful of rocket and enjoy!

Cost: The pizza dough, if made at home, is extremely economical at around 15-20p. The topping is, understandably, a little more expensive, though this isn’t a particularly extravagant pizza. Indeed, the entire meal, which could serve up to four (with salad), should set one back no more than around £1.80. That’s a lot cheaper than any pre-made pizza that you’ll find anywhere.