Friday 10 February 2012

Breaking the Law

Pizzette con Gamberi & Avocado
Individual Pizza's with Shrimp & Avocado


When it comes to pizza, there are many schools of thought on the matter of how they are supposed to be made if they are to be considered traditional or outstanding and this would mean of course by being baked in a stone oven. And there there is the matter of what goes on top of the pizza. Should it be thick and doughy or thin and crispy? Of course- all a matter of taste. And sure- the simpler, more traditional pizza's are more authentic and they are delicious, although I have to admit, that though it is tasty and good, it is not something I get excited about. I think life is too short and I like to branch out with ingredients and try new ideas. And sometimes the ideas are not half that bad... and look a little something like this :-)


Using my griddle-pan, I browned off the pizza dough before applying the toppings, as you have seen me do before in previous posts. I heated up the griddle pan and fried a handful of bacon pieces in it first, to get the bacon browned a little in advance, but also to get a nice "light" coating of fat onto the pan. Basically, I had 2 different topping and a 3rd variety which was a combination of the pair... "waste not- want not" indeed!

So as soon as the dough has been toasted in either side, for the first variety, spread with Ajvar instead of tomato sauce and sprinkle lightly with salted ricotta. Now add the avocado, in thin slices, a few drops of lime, a light sprinkle of bacon, a little more salted ricotta and a sprinkle of chili and bake for a further 3-4 minutes under a hot broiler.


The other version is made with a lemon and herb-infused cheese-curd topping, then the avocado, shrimp etc and a light dusting of ricotta and chili. The third version was made by mixing the left-over cheese curd together with a little of the Ajvar, the left-over onion, bacon and ricotta... and then spreading the combination also onto a pre-toasted slice of dough...

And let me tell you people- they all tasted mighty fine to me!

The word for "lawyer" or "attorney" in Italian is "Avvocato"- which sounds distractingly similar to the word "Avocado". At this point, I want to break the unwritten law that determines that the "real" and "authentic" pizza MUST BE the Margherita, which consists purely of tomato, mozzarella and basil. Because laws are made for breaking! And avocados are made for eating! Enjoy!



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