etc. couldn’t believe it when Domenico Crolla, creator of the world’s most expensive, hilariously calorie-crammed pizza, told us he could make a healthy one for under £5 – so we set him a mission: make it simple. Make it healthy. Make it cheap. And he chose to accept. Do try this at home.
The chef
Name: Domenico Crolla
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Other: UK Pizza Designer of the Year
Option One: Dinner!
Stats
Calorie count: 300
Prep time: 5 minutes – max!
Cost: approx £4
Serves: 1-2
Ingredients
1 rustic wholewheat pitta (save the fresh stuff for your sandwiches – use slices that are one or two days old)
Handful grated cheese – low fat mozzarella
Green pepper
Ground black pepper & salt
Cherry tomatoes
Red onion
Tabasco sauce
1. Turn on your grill or oven to heat up
2. Slice the pitta bread in half lengthways to create two thin bases
3. With a spoon, scrape away any excess dough from the inside. This cuts carbs and calories
4. Sprinkle on the cheese and add a dash of Tabasco sauce.
5. Dice the cherry tomatoes, onions and peppers. Sprinkle over pitta base. Season with black pepper and salt (go easy on the salt!)
6. Once the cheese is golden brown, remove from grill and stand for a minute. Burn self when you inevitably run out of patience and try to eat it immediately.
Either eat whole, or slice into fingers as a buffet snack. Enjoy!
Tips
Keep the dough/bread thickness to a minimum
Avoid fatty processed toppings like pepperoni, salami and meatballs
Go easy on the cheese. Cheeseless pizzas are all the rage these days. (Fact.)
Option Two: Snack attack!
Stats
Calorie count: 300
Prep time: 5 minutes – max!
Cost: approx £2
Serves: 1-2
Ingredients
1 rustic wholewheat pitta
Handful grated cheese
1 Orange
Ground pepper
Ketchup
1. Fire up your authentic stonebaking pizza apparatus (alright, turn on the grill)
2. Slice the pitta bread in half
3. Drizzle some ketchup over the pitta slices before placing them under the grill
4. Once slightly golden, remove pitta slices and sprinkle the cheese evenly
5. Place under the grill again
6. Meanwhile, finely grate the orange zest
7. Once the cheese is golden brown, remove from grill and stand for a minute. Then sprinkle the orange zest on top of the cheese and finish with ground black pepper
Enjoy!
Domenico says: ‘Lets face it, pizza isn’t known for being healthy – but it can be. Healthy eating is all about the preparation. When you’re hungry and can’t face the prospect of cooking it can be so easy to pick up the phone and dial-a-pizza instead. These ideas are really a very simple way of enjoying pizza while staying in tip-top shape: they don’t take long to make and are perfect for those after school dinners or late night snack attacks.’
Don’t like orange? Why not try honey, cinnamon, wasps, ground pine nuts or good old tomato? (Actually, not wasps. We should stop staring into the garden while typing.)
Pizza Royale 007
If you’re savagely wealthy and adventurous, why not try your hand at Domenico’s original Pizza Royale 007 recipe? It’ll only set you back £2,150. Bargain!
Stats
Calorie count: 1500
Prep time: 2-3 hours
Cost: £2,150
Serves: 2
Ingredients
12-inch organic base
Lobster
Louis XIII Cognac (approx £1,300)
Champagne soaked Beluga caviar
24-carat gold
While truffles
Sun blushed tomatoes
Venison
Scottish Salmon
Domenico says: ‘Everyone loves pizza as a treat, and this should be a real luxury experience.’ True. We’re off to dig for diamonds so we can afford to try one.
Fresh!
If your budget will stretch the extra few quid, get some fresh basil or rosemary to sprinkle over the top – a little goes a long way, and it really perks a pizza up. Just tear a couple of basil leaves up, or pinch some rosemary from the woody stems, and get garnishing…
Pizza facts
Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day – that’s 50 football pitches and 350 slices per second.
Over 5 billion pizzas are sold worldwide each year.
The UK’s least favourite pizza topping is anchovies, which have ranked last for three consecutive years. There is some justice then, the slimy little horrors.
Toppings of the world
India: pickled ginger, minced mutton and tofu
Japan: squid and Mayo Jaga (mayonnaise, potato and bacon)
Russia: ‘Mockba’ (a combination of sardines, tuna, mackerel, salmon and onions – yum!)
Brazil: green peas (yup, just green peas)
Costa Rica: cheese and coconut
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