Antipasto Pizza

Serve an antipasto platter on perfectly baked pizza dough for an indulgent summer dinner.

Two Italian greats combined - pizza and antipasto. Building your own pizzas is one of life’s great pleasures and I’ve taken inspiration from a recent antipasto platter and put it all on a freshly made pizza base. Bellissimo.

Pizza Dough (makes enough for 4 bases)

7g dry yeast
325ml luke warm water
500g highgrade flour
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Topping

4 tablespoons of tomato passata
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 large roasted red pepper from a jar, thinly sliced
12 sundried tomatoes, sliced
12 pieces of preserved artichoke hearts
20 kalamata olives
10-12 bocconcini
12 thin slices of your favourite salami (I used Calabrese)
Parmesan cheese for grating
A small handful of fresh oregano leaves for garnish
Extra virgin olive oil

Pizza dough: 

Place the yeast in the warm water and mix well. Place the flour and salt in a large bowl, mix, make a well in the centre, add the water and yeast mixture. Mix with your hands until combined and then tip out onto a floured bench and knead for 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Cut into four equal portions, roll into balls, place on a lightly oiled tray, cover and allow them to double in size, roughly two hours. You’ll need two for this recipe. The other two can be knocked back and frozen until required.

Pizza assembly: 

Preheat your oven (or pizza stone if using) to 250°C

Begin by sautéing the sliced red onion and fennel bulb for 10 minutes on a medium heat until soft and translucent. Set aside to cool.

Take one of the proved dough balls, knock back and roll out on a floured bench to 30cm round. Place two tablespoons of tomato passata on the pizza base and spread out. Grate over a fine layer of Parmesan cheese. Then arrange half the onions and fennel, sliced peppers, sundried tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and salami all over the pizza. Top with bocconcini and pine nuts and bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes until the base is crispy and the cheese is melted.

Garnish with fresh oregano leaves, a grating of Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.