MAINS/ PIZZA AND A MOVIE/ Series

The Tapas Pizza and Audrey

Hello and welcome to Djalali Cooks! It’s Friday – and that means, it’s time for Pizza and a Movie. Today’s pizza combination is based on a delicious Spanish cheeseboard; we have Spanish Chorizo, Manchego, Roasted Red Peppers and Manzanilla olives. It’s spicy, and zesty; cheesy and rich! For Movie Night, we are watching the new documentary, Audrey, on Netflix. Let’s get right to it, shall we?

The Tapas Pizza

I love small plates and appetizers. It’s the best way to get to know a restaurant: order all the appetizers for the table and share them, like tapas. We like to do this when we go to a new restaurant, this way we can all try the same things and have conversations about the flavors, the plating and the creativity of a dish. Cheeseboards are another great, communal way to enjoy food, flavors and conversation. (Remember my Cheeseboard Pizza? I do love a cheeseboard in pizza form.)

So the idea for this pizza is just to put together some of the flavors you would find on a Spanish cheeseboard. The chorizo is so flavorful, so it really takes center stage. The rest of the ingredients are there to smooth out the chorizo and add some really nice texture contrast.

The Tapas Pizza ingredients

The Dough

This is the first week I have my own, homemade dough. I am not ready yet to include the recipe here for you, because it still needs some work, but this was a pretty good first go! I decided to do this pizza on the pizza steel, but you can adapt it to be a pan pizza if you prefer. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, or the temperature called for by your particular pizza dough.

From here, you can use your palms to spread the dough by flattening and spreading your hands in opposite directions. Or you can take the dough onto the back sides of your hands, make loose fists and pull your hands in opposite directions, around the edge of the dough first, then outward from the center until you have a roughly 10-12 inch circle of dough.

Assembly

Start with a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella. Then, the sliced roasted red peppers. I sliced the Manchego in long thin slices so I arranged the slices in a sun shape from the center, so each slice of pizza will have a nice layer of Manchego.

Evenly scatter the sliced chorizo and sprinkle a little more shredded mozzarella. Then, top with the chopped Manzanilla olives.

Ready for the oven! Give the peel a flick from side to side to ensure the dough is not stuck and then position the pizza peel toward the back of the pizza steel or stone and with a smooth forward and then quick backward motion, slide the dough onto the steel and pull the peel out from under the dough.

The Tapas Pizza going into the oven
The Tapas Pizza going into the oven.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and browning, and the crust is golden.

Transfer the pizza to a cutting board, let it sit for a quick minute, then slice it up!

The Tapas Pizza
The sun shines on The Tapas Pizza

Movie Night: Audrey

Who doesn’t love Audrey Hepburn’s movies? Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Funny Face… This is the first documentary I have watched about her life and career and I found it fascinating. There were many aspects of her life I was already aware of: her work as a Unicef Ambassador, her struggle through the war and the starvation/malnutrition that came with that, and her beginnings as a ballet dancer.

This documentary incorporates voiceovers from Audrey’s interviews and stories from her friends and family; all interspersed with video and photography from her life on film sets, traveling for Unicef, and from her private life in the public eye. I think the stories and accounts of her life from those closest to her were the most interesting parts of the film; and there is a lot of footage of her very early career, and her work for Unicef. All in all, a wonderful portrait of an amazing woman who led an inspiring life.

Thank you so much for joining me today for Pizza and a Movie! I hope you make The Tapas Pizza – it’s a fun combination, taking the Spanish Cheeseboard flavors to a pizza. Have fun with it, make it your own and let me know how it goes for you. Reach out on Instagram or facebook, leave me a comment here too! Take care and be well, I will see you here for Sunday Supper! xo Kelly

The Tapas Pizza

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Dinner, Main Course American
By Kelly Djalali Serves: 2-4
Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 30 Minutes

A pizza combination is based on a delicious Spanish cheeseboard; we have Spanish Chorizo, Manchego, Roasted Red Peppers and Manzanilla olives. It's spicy, and zesty; cheesy and rich!

Ingredients

  • 1 Prepared Pizza Dough
  • Shredded Mozzarella
  • Roasted Red Peppers, sliced into thin strips
  • Manchego Cheese, thinly sliced
  • Spanish Chorizo, thinly sliced into rounds
  • Manzanilla Olives, rough chopped

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, or whatever temperature your dough calls for.

2

On a lightly floured surface, create a crust by pressing your finger tips into the dough about 1/2-1" in from the edge, cup your other hand around the edge of the dough and work your way around, pressing your finger tips into the dough to create a divot or moat around the dough. Then flatten down the center of the dough and pat it out to the crust. Flip the dough over and pat out the center to the crust. Use your palms to spread the dough by flattening and spreading your hands in opposite directions. Or you can take the dough onto the back sides of your hands, make loose fists and pull your hands in opposite directions, around the edge of the dough first, then outward from the center until you have a roughly 10-12 inch circle of dough.

3

Brush the outer edge and crust with olive oil and sprinkle some of the shredded mozzarella evenly over the center of the dough.

4

Lay the red pepper strips evenly on the pizza.

5

Evenly distribute the Manchego cheese slices.

6

Evenly scatter the chorizo slices over the Manchego and tope with a little more shredded mozzarella.

7

Sprinkle the chopped Manzanilla olives over the pie.

8

Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden.

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