What kind of cheese and tomato do you put on home-made pizzas ?

[IndigoSpritz]

I usually use a mix of ready-grated mozzarella, cheddar and Monterrey Jack. I make my own tomato sauce with tinned chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, olive oil, salt and pepper. And occasionally a splash of white wine. However, I fancy doing things a bit differently next time. Any suggestions ? I occasionally put a few cubes of blue cheese on but that's as adventurous as I've been so far.

Thankyou.

Marmite on a margarita is lovely.

own made sauce - heavy on the garlic, passata, touch of vinegar, touch of sugar, oregano, salt, pepper. simmer until it is really thick and just thinking about sticking on the bottom of the pan.

Cheese - drained balls of mozzarella (dried in kitchen towel too) and grated mozzarella

Top tip - sprinkle the tray with fine semolina rather than flour to give a really crispy base.

Gruyere, or ricotta with a bit of black truffle if you're feeling fancy

We make a tomato sauce with tomato puree, tomato ketchup (far from authentic, but a good base which adds some sweetness), lots of garlic, mixed dried herbs, olive oil, seasoning, and chilli flakes for the adults.

Cheese is usually fresh mozzarella and grated parmesan, but I'll use whatever we have in the fridge if it is all we have/needs using up/fancy a change. We never have plain cheese and tomato though so happy to not go too off piste with the cheese selection. If I wasn't adding any other toppings I'd experiment a bit more.

I'm boring, I use Lloyd grossman's tomato and basil pasta sauce and mozzarella...

I don't use grated mozzarella though, I use the balls, torn into chunks.

Goats cheese is yummy! Preferably the medium soft one with a rind.

tomato - just double concentrate puree.
cheese - whatever is in the fridge. usually cheddar or gauda. sometimes a little blue cheese too

Torn mozzarella balls,pesto,piquante peppers torn in half,chilli.Fresh basil in summer,mushrooms,wilted spinach.I also like chorizo or anchovies but DD is vegitarian.
Like the Ripon semolina,thank you.

Tip on not Ripon,I do wonder about my phone sometimes.

Thanks everyone. The fine semolina idea is something I've not come across before so I'll add it to the shopping list. I usually buy the bags of ready grated cheese because it's good value and can be frozen. I don't know if that's possible with the balls of mozzarella. I might try using uncooked sliced plum tomatoes instead of sauce, for a lighter, fruitier flavour. The spare juice in the can could form the basis of a Bloody Mary, if it's drinkable.

Wee blobs of mascarpone is lovely, particularly with prosciutto and rocket

I use passata with basil or with garlic and onion. Cheese is Sainsbury value grated mozzarella or mozzarella ball with a drizzle of pesto. Top with some basil leaves after baking.

See i never like buying ready grated cheese as it's coated with something (flour?) to stop it clagging back together and I never think it melts properly.

Does the mozzarella do that or is it okay?

I never freeze cheese though, it's not something I'd ever thought of.

Wax. The cheese I buy readily sticks together when it's fresh or frozen so I don't think there's any anti-caking stuff. It seems to melt okay but not in a stringy way. My philosophy about freezing cheese comes from the humble frozen pizza.

True, it's already grated and sprinkled then I suppose.

Just now thinking about the huge block of cheddar I have from Costco and whether I could grate and freeze that.

I make a sauce from onions, garlic, passatta, oregano and a little balsamic vinegar, cooked down and blitzed.

Cheese is sliced value mozzarella except for DS who has issues with lactose and is better with goats cheese.

We like our pizzas fully loaded though, which means some combo of Italian salami, red onion, mushrooms, peppers, asparagus (from the garden) jarred antipasti, spinach, rocket, egg, chilli, and olives.

Oh love these recipes! It would never have occurred to me to make the sauce myself.

I’ve given up making pizzas as I got into such a strop when I couldn’t get them stretched out and shaped.

If I'm doing a tomato based one, then I make a sauce with olive oil, garlic, tomato puree, passata, oregano, Balsamic vinegar and a bit of sugar. Then whatever toppings plus mozzarella.

I also do one where I make a sauce with onion. Thinly slice several onions, heat olive oil in a saucepan and throw in the onion with a couple of tablespoons of dark brown sugar. Stir well and cook down till caramelised. Then add a couple of teaspoons of Balsamic vinegar. Stir again. Use to cover base

Then dot ricotta all over the top of the onions and spread as much as possible. Then cover with a couple of packs of Serrano ham/Parma ham/speck etc.

Cook and you have a salty, sweet, smoky and quite frankly amazing pizza.

Tomato puree and cheap cheddar

Balsamic vinegar and sugar keep cropping up - interesting. I've never cooked with either.

Shaping a lump of pizza dough takes practice, persistence and patience. Have a well-floured flat, smooth surface and a lump of dough at room temperature, or at least not just out of the fridge. Flatten it as much as possible with the palm of your hand then roll it out with a rolling pin as if it were scone or biscuit dough. I find the trick is to roll it from one side to another, rotate it, roll again and so on until it reaches the desired diameter and depth. It doesn't matter if it's not perfectly round or if the depth isn't exactly even. However, try to avoid 1 inch at one side and see-through on the other !

I used to be able to shape a perfectly round pizza just with my hands and no rolling pin. These days, I just use a rolling pin. I wasn't much good to begin with but I'm improving every time.

I make pizza sauce by sweating off onions & garlic with a grated carrot and then add a carton of passata and a spoon of sugar and some seasoning. Let it reduce down and then blend. When cool I separate it into small portions and freeze. I also make RTÉ pizza dough (in my bread maker) and separate it into individual portions. Both go in the freezer so I usually have enough portions to knock up a homemade pizza anytime we fancy it. Cheese freezers really well, even when grated. I often buy a portion of Parmesan and grate it, portion it up and freeze. It can be added to dishes from frozen as it keeps its crumbly texture and defrosts really quickly. I'm all about time-saving!

I just use tomato puree - I batch cook tomato sauce for pasta but find it too wet for pizza. Topping can be either type of mozzarella (grated or ball) plus a bit of parmesan for flavour or cheddar for one DC who prefers it.

Morrison's didn't have any fine semolina this afternoon, even though there are two brands on their website. Must be an online thing. I'll try Waitrose.

Passata, mozerella, olive oil and seasoning and home grown fresh tomatoes when we have them. The dough is strong white flour, yeast, water, salt and a bit of olive oil.

I have to keep it simple and quick or I wouldn't bother.