Cooking: Alternative pizza recipes

What is pizza for me?  tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni and a lovely carb "vessel" to carry off these delicacies...

But I don't want to have classic pizza all the time --  that's why I try to find recipes that still include my favourite ingredients and also bring the pleasure of eating pizza to a whole new level!




Pepperoni rolls
adapted from Closet cooking and following
the instructions from The Gunny Sack


385g pizza dough
200g mozzarella
150g fine salami slices

dried oregano


Preheat oven at 180 degrees fan.
To prepare these rolls, nothing could be simpler:  roll the pizza base open.  With the help of a cookie cutter / glass / sharp knife cut out circles of about 10cm diameter.  Spread the salami slices and the torn mozzarella, then sprinkle everything with oregano.  Ga

ther the ends on top of each circle, resulting in a little roll.  Lightly oil an oven dish.  Place rolls with the seam side down (so they don't burst open during baking). Bake for about 15 minutes or until everything is brown and bubbly.  Serve with any type of dip/salsa you like!




Pizza Casserole

adapted from Cully's Kitchen


250g pasta (I used tagliatelle)

1 pork sausage (Bockwurst), in thin slices
100g ham/boloney (I used strips of bacon)
1 small onion, chopped
500ml tomato sauce (I used one with basil)
150g mozzarella cheese
60g grated parmesan cheese
125g sliced chorizo

150g grated emmental

Dried garlic / oregano / smoked paprika

First things first:  this is a casserole.  As in all casseroles, the ingredients are only indicative, because - in a casserole - you put everything you  find in your fridge.  I had a 3/4 jar of tomato sauce, I filled it up with tomato paste and cooking water from the pasta.  I also had some leftover bacon, which I fried together with the sausage.  I had dairy-free mozzarella slices, I used them instead of the real thing.  I had Regato cheese, I used this in place of parmesan. The end result is in any way amazing...

On to the preparation:  Boil pasta al dente, drain.   At the same time, prepare the sauce:  lightly fry onion and meats.  Make sure everything is nice and brown.  Add tomato sauce and condiments and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven at 180 degrees fan.  In a medium-sized dish, arrange as follows:  bit of sauce at the bottom (I also put two teaspoons of butter for good luck), half the pasta, the rest of the tomato/sausage sauce, sprinkle with parmesan, top with the rest of the pasta.  Top with grated emmental and place the little pepperoni slices in a nice decorative manner.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.  I agree with Cully's Kitchen - once it's out of the oven, it does not stay more than 5 minutes on the table...

This post is my entry into Weekend Cooking, a weekly event hosted by Beth Fish Reads. For more information, see the welcome post.