Pizza The Hutt

The sky was a deep blue and in the shade and on the higher ground there was still snow and sheets of ice. It didn't stop me having a long walk in the winter sun; just as the weather hadn't stopped us exploring the beer selection at a newly opened bar in town the evening before.

On my walk I'd bumped into someone I'd not seen since schooldays; and we had a good chat and he mentioned he'd seen my cooking exploits on Facebook. That said I decided to challenge myself in the kitchen that day. As well as the morning's talk being my inspiration I remembered that the dad of a friend of mine has the rare skill of making quality homemade pizzas from scratch, he's told me that one day he'll sell his secret pizza recipe; he should do as they're delicious.

More music from my distant past was on the player; in fact the record I chose was one that I first bought around the time I last saw the bloke I'd seen on my morning walk. It was Dire Straits' multi platinum selling Brothers In Arms; a record that people tend to either wax lyrical about or downright despise. It's perhaps not their very best record but anything that contains hit songs like "So Far Away", "Money for Nothing", "Walk of Life" and the title track amongst others clearly has a lot going for it.

Task number one was to make the topping by lightly frying in Sunflower Oil two diced Shallots and eight ounces of cubed Butternut Squash for 20 minutes. The key in doing this was to make sure the Butternut Squash was softened properly and the Shallots were translucent but not burnt.

I left the Shallots and Squash to one side in the frying pan once they'd cooked and turned my attention to the dough. I mixed 14 ounces of White Bread Flour with 7 fluid ounces of water and 1 teaspoon of Yeast. The technique for getting the consistency of the dough is not the easiest but if you start by mixing the Flour and the Yeast before adding the water gradually you stand a decent chance of ending up with a dough that's sticky but can be shaped using your hands into a circle.

After I'd got the dough into a flat, yet chunky circle I left to rise for half an hour on a south facing window ledge to allow it to rise.

To finish the topping I tiled the dough, until the top was almost fully covered, with slices of Double Gloucester and then I spread the Shallot and Butternut Squash pieces across the top with a liberal scattering of Pine Nuts.

I then cooked it in the oven for 25 minutes on Gas Mark 6. This allowed enough time for the Double Gloucester to melt properly and bind the other elements of the topping together and also to ensure the dough was totally cooked.

The end product was a pizza that contained a topping containing two super foods, pliable dough that was soft and rich and perhaps, as the bloke I'd seen earlier that day pointed out on Social Media, gave a local takeaway a run for its money.

Straight out of the oven complete with melted Cheese and Pine Nuts aplenty.

Taking a slice: even a quarter of the Pizza provided a surprisingly filling meal.