Spicy Honey Pepperoni Pizza

Makes 1 Large Pizza

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Off to a spicy start today we are. I came to a rather raunchy section in my book and then I had a dream about pepperoni pizza so it felt natural to honour the spice. If you are a foodie fan that doesn't live in New York but loves the idea of going on a food tour around New York then you've probably seen pictures of the bee sting pizza. Sure they have it elsewhere but it kind of feels like you should get it in New York. I'm sure you understand that somewhat unique sentiment. They don't use pepperoni though, they use soppressata which is a dry italian salami, which I did not have access to. Bottom of the world problems and all that, so we went for el classico, mr pep.

Anyways, I made a bee-sting-adjacent pizza so you could experience a little bit of New York before you actually get there. You're most welcome.

Recipe

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

• 280g of high grade flour (plus more for dusting)

• 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon of salt

• 2 1/4 teaspoons of instant yeast

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• 3/4 cup of warm water

Tomato Sauce

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil (or a neutral oil)

• 300g of cherry tomatoes

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup of brandy or red port wine (optional)

• Salt to season

• 1 tablespoon of sugar

• Water

Pizza Toppings

• 125g of fresh mozzarella

• 12 slices of pepperoni

• Thinly sliced red onion

• Runny honey

• Quality chilli oil

• Chilli flakes for extra spice

Method

Pizza Dough

1. Mix together half the flour with the sugar, salt, and yeast.

2. Pour in the warm water and olive oil and mix to combine.

3. Slowly add in the rest of the flour until a dough starts to form.

4. Pour the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough a few times. If the dough is very sticky and sticking to the bench, slowly add in more flour until it's tacky (and slightly sticky) but is easy to mould with your hands. A good rule of thumb is that it should not be sticking to your hands.

5. Oil a separate large boil using a brush then place the dough ball in the ball. Cover the dough with the olive oil in the bowl then place plastic wrap tightly over the bowl. Leave in a warm space to rise for 45 minutes to an hour.

6. If you intend to cook the pizza after the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 180c - 200c (fan bake) - depending on how hot your oven gets.

Tomato Sauce

1. Heat the olive oil up on high in a pan then add in your cherry tomatoes. Cook them until blistered, caramelised, and collapsed. I like to use a cast iron or stainless steel pan to get a nice char on them.

2. Add in your garlic for 1 minute then use the brandy or port to deglaze the pan.

3. Add in enough water to just cover the tomatoes then let that reduce down by 2/3rds.

4. Add in the sugar and salt (you can add other herbs here if you like such as basil and oregano), then squish the tomatoes to get all the juice out. Cook down for a few more minutes then strain the sauce through a sieve to get rid of the skins and seeds. Add the sauce back into the pan and reduce down a bit further.

Pizza

1. Roll out the dough to a large circle. Use a fork to prick the pizza dough then spread the sauce across the dough evenly.

2. Evenly spread slices of the mozzarella on to the pizza then the pepperoni and red onion.

3. Place into the oven for 15 minutes. Drizzle over the honey and chilli oil and place back in the oven for 3-5 minutes.

4. Finish with more honey and chilli oil (and chilli flakes if you want).

5. Serve and Enjoy!

Stay Salty,

Romy xx