Vegetarian Supreme Pizza | The Book Ninja

Her stomach thundered in anticipation of as she reached just what she was looking for: Jo's Pizza - open all day, every day, and ready and willing to deliver a Vegetarian Supreme, two garlic breads and a chocolate mousse direct to her door.
The Book Ninja
Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus

Winter seems to be officially over. The chilling winds that had taken over Melbourne for the last three months have somewhat subsided and my weekly trips to the local farmer’s market have began to be a lovely walk in the sunshine, as opposed to the previous trips - of balancing bags and an umbrella while trying to retain a vague semblance of warmth. This is Melbourne however, and it wouldn’t be Melbourne without it’s fluctuating weather. That’s why this Sunday afternoon was spent inside, making homemade pizzas, drinking tea and listening to the pouring rain outside.

It’s always lovely to read something that captures your home so well, The Book Ninja set in Melbourne does it so well (arguably Ali Berg and Michelle Klaus’s second novel, While You Were Reading manages to capture the atmosphere of Melbourne even better). It seemed appropriate to devour this book while travelling on the numerous tram lines of the city. I’ve heard often of the Books on the Rail initiative begun by the two authors but unluckily I’ve never encountered a wild book on the public transport of the city.

*Notes: Toppings are basically super subjective when it comes to pizza. Put now whatever you like. I also used Sheese mozzarella for this - it melts so nicely for pizzas.

Vegetarian Supreme Pizza
Makes two large pizzas
Ingredients
Dough
3 cups plain flour
1 cup warm water
1 tsp white sugar
2 tsp dried yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Pizza Sauce
400g can of crushed tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
SaltFresh black pepper
Toppings *see note
1 red capsicum, deseeded and finely sliced
1 green capsicum, deseeded and finely sliced
6 - 7 button mushrooms, finely sliced
100g black olives, pitted and sliced
50g pickled jalapeños
200g mozzarella *see note

Dough

1. Combine the yeast, warm water and sugar together in a bowl and leave to the side until the yeast begins to foam.

2. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and mix, then make a well in the middle.

3. Add the olive oil and yeast mixture to the well in the middle of the flour, using your hands to bring the flour in from the sides, bringing the dough together in the bowl.

4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for at least 10 minutes - you want the dough to be smooth and elastic like. Shape into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl, covering with a clean cloth and leaving in a warm area to rise or approx. 30 minutes. The dough should double in size.

Pizza Sauce

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, adding in the minced garlic once the oil is hot and cooking for 1 minute.

2. Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, black pepper, oregano, basil and paprika.

3. Once the sauce is simmering, lower the heat and cover the pan. Leave on the stove to thicken and cook - it should take about 15 minutes for the sauce to thicken enough to use. Leave to the size while you prepare your dough.

Pizza 

1. Preheat oven to 220C.

2. Prepare two pizza trays by oiling them - I would recommend putting a piece of baking paper down as well (though my own is terrible and sort of requires it if I don’t want them to burn on the bottom).

3. Once your dough has risen, transfer it to a cutting board and half the dough into two even portions. Take one portion and roll it out into the best circle you can - you can make it as thin as you like, depending on what type of crust you prefer. I usually use my hands to stretch it out some more at the end. Repeat with the remaining portion of dough.

4. Place the pizza bases onto the prepared trays - time to top them!Cover the the bases with your pizza sauce and then pop all the toppings on however you want. I tend to put the cheese on first so it doesn’t run the risk of pulling all the toppings off when cutting into it.

5. Place pizzas into the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the pizzas from the trays and place them back into the oven, cooking for another 10 minutes to crisp up the base. Enjoy!