Mini pizzas

Above shows two of the six pita pizzas I made for dinner today. A complete, easy meal, with loads of possibilities for the toppings - get as creative as you like! I considered adding marinated artichoke hearts and even some sauteed salmon, but in the end decided to use various combinations of Black Forest ham, mushrooms, two cheeses (Parmesan and a creamy Havarti), half of a smoked sausage and sauteed onions. I also considered making pizza dough from scratch until my eyes lit on the pack of pita that had been sitting in the freezer for about a month now.

Pita pizzas with various toppings

Tomato sauce:
156ml can tomato paste
398ml can tomato sauce
Five cloves of garlic, chopped
Two large white mushroomns, chopped

Toppings:
Black forest ham, sliced into strips*
Smokey sausage, sliced into rounds*
Two large white mushrooms, sliced thinly
Half a red onion, sliced into rings and sauteed till golden
Havarti Jalapeno cheese, cubed
Grated Parmesan cheese, enough to sprinkle over 6 pita rounds

* I was worried that the fat in the sausage and ham could come out during the pizza baking. Pools of fat sitting on top of the tomato sauce would be sooo unattractive! So as a precaution I microwaved the ham and sausage slices on paper towels for 1 minute, drained them and presto, they were ready for use.

Prepare the pizza base: Toast 6 pita rounds lightly, in a 400 F oven. Around 8 minutes.

Make the tomato sauce base: Saute chopped garlic in 1 tbsp oil for 3 to 5 minutes. Add chopped mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes. Pour in tomato paste and tomato sauce and let simmer over medium/low heat for around 10 minutes until the flavours combine. Season with your choice of herbs, salt and pepper. Add a pinch of sugar if the tomato sauce is too tart.

Assemble the pizzas: Lay parchment paper or wax paper on your baking surface (I used three cookie sheets, two pita rounds to a sheet). Assemble the pizzas by coating each one with the tomato sauce. You can then add whatever toppings you like. On one pizza I layered the sauteed onion with the cubed Havarti and ham strips. On another I used the sausage rounds and Havarti. Another pizza had only the sliced mushrooms and ham strips. I didn't use mozzarella simply because I didn't have it, but it's a fine tradition.

Finally, sprinkle grated Parmesan over all the pizzas. Bake in a 400 F oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheeses melt. Here are two of the pizzas after their whirl in the oven:



Delicious! I loved the contrast between the crunchy pita and the savoury sauce and toppings. I can see myself having a fruity red wine to go with this, or with an ice cold bottle of cider which is what H and I actually had.

Have a wonderful evening.