Make your fave Italian takeaways at home in a healthier way with these recipes tips! Get the kids involved and make this a fun family weekend meal together.
It’s rare to come across someone who doesn’t like pizza. And we get it! Delicious carbs, covered in cheese – what’s not to like? But if you’re trying to follow a healthier meal plan or are weight-loss programme, we bring you some recipe tips and guidelines for making pizza at home that’s tasty and packed with great veggies and lower in calories, salt and fat than what you’d get from your local takeaway spot.
Easy Wins:
– Make your bases from scratch, so you know exactly what’s in them.
– If you’re having cheese, add a smaller amount of good-quality mozzarella so that you still get the flavour, but less calories.
– Pack your pizzas with delicious, nutritious veggies so that you’re upping the nutrient count. Classics are: tomato, basil, baby spinach, olives, artichokes, mushrooms, peppers, chilli or leftover roast veg like aubergine, baby marrows or even butternut can all work.
– For an easy tomato base, we recommend using passata.
– You can use a pizza stoneware plate for your braai (like this from Le Creuset) or a pizza tray in your oven to create perfectly crispy pizzas or invest in an Ooni gas pizza oven.
Bases:
Regular Pizza Base:
Combine 1 cup warm water, 1 Tbsp yeast and 1 Tbsp sugar in a large bowl and stir to combine. Set aside until frothy. Stir in 1 Tbsp olive oil then add 2 cups of good-quality 00 flour and 1 tsp salt. Gently mix until a ball forms, adding a little more flour if needed. Start kneading, adding more flour as you go, until smooth. Set aside in a bowl, covered with a damp cloth, for 1 hour. Roll out into pizza shapes, add toppings and cook on a heated pizza pan until crispy (10-15 minutes).
Gluten-Free Pizza Base:
Use the same recipe as above, but sub normal flour with a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum (or a gluten-free flour of your choice plus 1.5 tsp of xanthan gum).
Low-Carb Pizza Base:
650-700g cauliflower florets blitzed in a food processor to make “cauli rice”. Heat in a microwave for 5 minutes to soften (or heat in a large pan). Drain out the moisture in a nut bag. Place the drained cauli rice in a large mixing bowl with ⅓ cup soft cheese like ricotta or cottage cheese, 1 egg and salt and pepper to taste. Mix it together to form a rough dough and spread out on a baking paper lined tray or stone. Press it down to even out the thickness. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 20-25 minutes and then add your toppings and return to the oven.