Totes Masc Pizza

 

This pizza has beer in it, and two kinds of pork.  Eat it while building a bookshelf or watching the sportsball.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

  • 4g instant yeast
  • 75ml warm water
  • 1tbps olive oil
  • 125g bread flour
  • 1tsp table salt
  • 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon
  • 2 of your favourite sausages (skins removed)
  • 20g butter
  • 20g plain flour
  • 100ml of your favourite beer (though ideally a blonde or pale ale)
  • 100ml milk
  • 50g mature cheddar cheese (grated)
  • 50g of that pre-grated mozzarella
  • 2 eggs

Method:

 

For the pizza base:

Put the warm water in a bowl and add the yeast.  Stir until the yeast is dissolved and then add the olive oil.  Add the flour and salt and mix until roughly combined.  Empty onto a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 5 mins).  Put aside in a covered container until doubled in size (about 45 mins).

Pre-heat your oven to its highest temperature.

For the toppings:

Place the bacon in a lightly oiled (cold) pan and turn up the heat to medium.  Turn occasionally until golden and crispy and transfer to some kitchen paper to remove the excess fat.  Chop into rough pieces.

Add the sausage to the same pan and break up with the side of the spoon to form a mince-like texture.  Cook until golden and starting to crisp.  Put aside to cool.

For the beer-cheese sauce:

Put the butter and flour in a pan and cook on medium, stirring constantly to form a smooth golden paste.  Add the beer a little at a time whilst stirring and then add the milk.  Bubble away until thick and smooth and then reduce the heat to low.  Stir in the cheddar cheese and stir until melted.  Season to taste.

To finish:

Press the dough onto a lightly oiled baking tray to form a thin, even layer.  Spread on the beer-cheese sauce and sprinkle with the bacon and sausage bits.  Cover with the grated mozzarella.

Pop the pizza in the oven and keep and eye on it.  Once the sauce is bubbling and cheese is starting to turn golden remove the pizza from the oven.  Using the back of a spoon, make two little wells in the pizza toppings and break an egg into each.  Add a little pinch of salt and a grind of pepper to the yolk of each egg and return to the oven.  Your pizza is ready to go when the white is cooked and the yolk still has a bit of wobble.

Eating out: Spitfire BBQ, Bristol

spitfire2

Spitfire BBQ is a new addition to the popular Bristol Harbourside. Boasting ‘caveman style’ cooking and speciality dry rubs and sauces, it promises to be a carnivores paradise.

The first thing that strikes you when you enter Spitfire BBQ is the reassuringly authentic smoky atmosphere. Combined with the cosy American diner style booths and quirky decor, one immediately gets the feeling that the food is going to impress.  The waiting staff are casual, friendly and efficient.  The drinks menu boasts a fine selection of classic cocktails and other more original creations, along with an impressive number of beers and ciders.

And so to the food, and meat is certainly the word of the day.  From starters to sides and mains, meat is the star.  Burgers, sausages ribs and steaks, all topped with, wrapped in and adjacent to even more meaty treats.

My starter was one of the few options that came sans-pork (plenty of that to come later) – the Braai bread, a gorgeous, moist bread dough cooked directly on hot coals and served swimming in scrumptious garlic butter.

This was followed by a main of Spitfire ribs.  These signature ribs are available in three sizes – small, big and huge.  I ordered the ‘big’ – and boy do they mean big!  I was presented with a slab of pork belly that could easily have fed 4 people.  The meat was smoky and charred on the outside, but deliciously melting and moist on the inside, and all coated in a delicious, but not overpowering, BBQ glaze.

My sides consisted of the aptly named dirty fries – chunky, skin on chips topped with pulled pork – and some rather pedestrian onion rings (the only disappointment in an otherwise thoroughly satisfying meat-feast).  This was all washed down with a couple of pints of wonderful FUBAR pale ale from Welsh beer heroes Tiny Rebel Brewery.

In conclusion – leave your vegetarian friends at home and embrace your inner caveman, Spitfire BBQ offers a selection of food guaranteed to tickle any carnivores fancy.

Spitfire BBQ

Tiny Rebel Brewery

spitfire