1 pork & fennel sausage (casing removed, broken into small pieces)
1 can peeled whole tomatoes
1 garlic clove (½ for sauce, ½ optional for base)
1 egg
Fresh mozzarella
Low-moisture mozzarella
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
Olive oil
Fresh basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pizza dough (store-bought or homemade) see recipe and ingredients below
Method:
Make the Tomato Sauce
In a bowl or stick blender cup, add the canned tomatoes, ½ grated garlic clove, 1 tbsp olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
Blend very briefly—just enough to break the tomatoes up but still keep some texture.
Assemble the Pizza
Preheat your oven (or pizza oven) to its highest temperature.
Stretch out your pizza dough to your desired size.
Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the base.
Top with Parmigiano Reggiano, sliced mushrooms, crumbled sausage, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella and low-moisture mozzarella.
Bake and Add the Egg
Place the pizza in the oven to bake.
About halfway through the bake, remove the pizza and carefully crack the egg into the centre.
Return the pizza to the oven and bake until the egg white is set and the yolk is still slightly runny (or cooked to your liking).
Finish and Serve
Remove from the oven and season the egg with salt and pepper.
Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.
Theo Loizou’s Pizza Dough Ingredients
400g Tipo 00 flour
75g bread flour
25g Wholegrain flour
100g active sourdough starter
12g salt
5g olive oil
290g water plus 60g water for when salt is added
Method
In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer add water then starter and mix with a wooden spoon until broken up
Add flours and mix on low speed until combined well – about 4mins
Let dough rest for 30mins then add salt and half the remaining water and mix on medium speed for 4mins
After 4mins the dough should be smooth, check the temp with a probe you don’t want the dough to reach higher than 28° – aim for between 25° and 28°C (this will depend on your environment, if it’s very hot where you are you will need to start the mix with cold water and vice versa if you are in a cold climate
Next with the machine running add the olive oil and if the dough needs more water add the remaining water (this is done by eye and feel, the more you do it the easier it will become to know what hydration is right for you)
Mix for a further 4mins then remove from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled container or bowl to bulk ferment for around 2hrs (again this is determined by your environment)
After the bulk fermentation dump the dough on a bench and divide into equals portions or 280g balls
Shape into a tight ball and place in a flat container with a cover to proof.
You can at this stage place them in the fridge and use them the the next day or let them proof at room temperature and bake the same day – the balls should increase by 1/3 or so before baking
Note – if you don’t have a mixer you can mix the ingredients by hand and halfway through the bulk fermentation stage give the dough a set of folds (take the dough and pick up one side of it and fold it over to the other side and keep doing this until the dough cannot take any more tension) or you can perform a set of coil folds (take one third of the dough and stretch it up as far as it will allow then fold it under the rest of the dough, do that 2 more times)
750g small mushrooms 750g white vinegar 100g sugar or sugar substitute 1kg water 5 bay leaves 10 black peppercorns 2tsp salt 1 head garlic, cloves only, sliced up to 500g extra virgin olive oil
Optional flavourings: 1 long red chili finely sliced ½ red onion, finely diced or 1 orange, rind only, sliced 3 sprigs thyme or 1 lemon, rind only 2 sprigs rosemary
To prepare the mushrooms, remove any dirt with a moist paper towel. Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt, and garlic to the boil in a medium saucepan.
Place mushrooms into the liquid and boil for up to 20minutes. Mushrooms will float and bob around to begin with and slowly absorb water and sink slightly, decreasing in overall size, and turn glossy and light brown in colour.
Drain well and place in airtight jars with your chosen flavourings, then cover in olive oil.
Refrigerate for best preserve but bring to room temperature before serving.
Serving suggestions • Spoon mushrooms on top of your favourite toast. • Scramble or poach eggs and serve alongside mushrooms for a special Sunday breakfast. • Serve alongside your favourite cheese for a delicious grazing board addition. • Serve as a part of tapas offerings.
Dietary notes • Vegetarian and vegan as is • Dairy free and gluten free as is, and refined sugar free optional.
Make marinated button mushrooms. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic and thyme in a shallow plate. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Add mushrooms. Toss to coat. Stand for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.
Divide lettuce between 4 bowls. Arrange cucumber, tomatoes and radish over salad. Drain mushrooms, reserving 2 tablespoons marinade. Add mushrooms to serving bowls. Add 2 tablespoons oil to reserved marinade. Stir to combine.
Heat remaining oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add haloumi. Cook for 1 minute each side or until golden and soft. Arrange haloumi in bowls. Drizzle with dressing. Serve sprinkled with seed mix.
Cook’s note: These marinated mushrooms are great also for an antipasto shared plate or to toss through a Summer salad.
You can also use 200g brown button; or 200g larger mushrooms such as Swiss brown or cup, quartered
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes or until golden. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic. Cook stirring for 30 seconds. Stir through spinach. Cook for 1 minute or until spinach starts to wilt.
Make 4 holes in pan. Break an egg into each hole. Cook, covered, for 4-5 minutes or until white is set. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle eggs with paprika. Serve immediately with toasted bread.
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
200g white button mushroom, halved; or 200g Swiss brown cup mushrooms, quartered
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs to serve
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 large slices sourdough bread, toasted
1 avocado
60g smooth feta
250g packet cocktail truss tomatoes, cut into bunches
1 Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add mushroom and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 5-8 minutes, or until golden. Add garlic. Cook, stirring for 30 seconds.
2 Meanwhile, roughly mash avocado and feta with a fork. Spread over bread. Spoon over mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with extra thyme. Serve drizzled with extra oil along with tomatoes.
250g Button Mushrooms, halved or larger ones quartered
1 cup parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
50g parmesan, finely grated
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp olive oil
2 zucchinis, coarsely grated or shredded
Salt and pepper, to season
Heat a 22cm non-stick ovenproof frying pan over high heat. Cook the bacon for 3 minutes or until golden, then remove and set aside and reduce heat to medium-high. Melt the butter in the pan. Cook the mushrooms for 5 minutes or until golden, tossing the pan regularly. Remove and set aside.
Meanwhile, stir most of the parsley and parmesan through the eggs, reserving some to serve. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, then top with the bacon, mushrooms and zucchini. Cook the frittata for 4 minutes or until golden on the base.
Meanwhile, preheat the grill to high. Grill the frittata for 5 minutes or until golden. Scatter with the remaining parsley and parmesan to serve.
