Fig and Ricotta Pizza and Tomato Black Olive Mozarella Pizza

I was looking at my label for Pizza and realized I do not post too many pizza recipes and I do not eat too many pizzas anymore. Yes like everyone else my generation I was hooked to all those Pizza brands but one that I most loved was Sicillian. It was a small outlet in our cafeteria at work and they knew how to really bake the pizza base and the topping perfectly this while others used readymade pizza bases.

Recently I was browsing thru two recipe books actually I was just enjoying the pictures when I spotted a recipe for a thin crust dough. I just need to try it and it was so good I though I'd share it with you here.

We, that's Dad and me insist on crisp pizzas, limp will not do for us. So this recipe looked promising. Also I decided to try new toppings along with a standard veggie pizza of Tomato and black olives, dependable as it is.

Ingredients

For the dough (Reference: The Taj Magazine)

100 gms flour

1.5 tablespoons olive oil

salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon yeast

40 ml water

In the magazine all it says is knead the pizza dough and roll it out into a round base. Put on pizza tray.

However here is what I do from my experience of making pizza doughs.

Warm the water for 15 secs in the microwave. Add yeast and sprinkle some flour over it. Let it bloom for 10 mins. Now in a bowl measure out the flour. Slowly add the bubbled yeast liquid into the flour and bring it together in a ball. On a counter place 1/4 teaspoon salt and pour the 1.5 tablespoons olive oil over it. Now remove the dough on the counter and knead together with salt and olive oil for 5 mins. Make a smooth ball and divide into 2 portions.

Roll out the dough into two bases. I made one 8 inch base and another rectangular base.  Line the baking trays with foil if needed and place the base in it. Some trays do not have textured surface and it is tough to clean so I always line with foil.

Toppings for Pizza I

2 Sweet fresh figs sliced

1 cup Ricotta cheese, mine is homemade

2 pinches dried Thyme

2 pinches dried chili flakes

1/8 cup Balsamic vinegar

Bake the pizza base at 300 deg celcius for 15 mins. Remove from oven and sprinkle ricotta cheese. Place the fig slices over the ricotta. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over. Sprinkle the thyme and follow in with chilli flakes. You can either put it into the oven for another 10 mins, till the ricotta bubbles or eat it straight once topped. 

The flavours of this pizza are amazing. Its not your everyday pizza and we loved it with the standard tomato black olive pizza. One was a main the other a wonderful dessert pizza!

Toppings for Pizza II

1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup grated mozarella and processed cheese mix
2 tomatoes sliced
a handful of olives sliced
2 teaspoons Itallian herbs
1 teaspoon dried chili flakes

On the second pizza base spread the tomato sauce, top it with cheese. Lay the tomato slices and spread evenly the olive slices. Dust with mixed Itallian herbs and chili flakes. 

Bake the pizza at 300 deg celsius for 20 mins or till desired crispness.

Enjoy the two pizzas!