An Evening with Atush

Last Saturday, before I went for the PTA meeting in school, Tukang Makan told me that we would be going for our fortnightly grocery shopping at Jaya 33 once I reached home. This time, he had decided upon fish. He told me that he had too much prawns and squids for the week.

My daughter, as usual, loves to tag along whenever we have this ritual. As I went along the frozen food section, looking for my puff pastry, she saw a box of frozen pizza. This young lady has a 'unique' way of telling me what she craves for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Casually, she mentioned that she had not eaten pizza for quite a long time. I pointed at the box and she said,"Nevermindlah mama. Nanti petang mama buat sendiri dengan Atush ya?" Hmmmm....gone was the plan to rest and had some doses of TV viewing that evening.

After lunch, I browsed through my recipe collection to look for the simplest concoction. I felt really blessed to find a simple one in my Resipi Sihat, Pilihan Bijak Vol.1 recipe book. Halimatus was with me in the kitchen from the dough making process till the pizza was baked. I could almost see the glow of excitement in her eyes. Deep down in my heart, I was praying. Please God, make this lame effort of mine produce a great outcome.

Do you want to know the verdict? It was a worthwhile effort because that picky young lady gobbled up two large pieces and her brother munched away the same amount too! The most touching remark came from my maid, "Ibu, memang bener sedap. Bagus lagi dari PizzaHut" and I was smiling from ear to ear! What about my Tukang Makan? He finished four pieces and that was more than enough for me! I was not tired after all!

Let's check the photos out before looking at the recipe ya!

Rolled out the dough as thin as possible.(Pssst..I didn't bother to roll. I just used my hands and 'tepek-tepek' the dough..haha)

Next, smear the tomato sauce onto the dough

Arrange the topping (Halimatus' work of art)

Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese

Bake in a preheated oven for 25 mins. Meanwhile, enjoy the heavenly cheesy smell.

Tadaa!!! The fruit of my labour

SIMPLE PIZZA

(A) For the dough:

300g high protein flour

3 tsp of instant yeast

3/4 tsp salt

1 and 1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp olive oil/cooking oil

200ml of warm water

vegetable shortening/butter/margarine for greasing

(B) For the sauce:

1 can peeled tomatoes(finely chopped

100ml water

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tbsp tomato puree

1 yellow onion(finely chopped)

1 tsp dried oregano/basil

salt to taste

2 tbsp olive oil

(C) For the topping:

sliced fresh button mushrooms

sliced chicken sausages

diced, cooked chicken breast

(add any possible topping you can think of-the more the merrier!)

mozarella cheese ( I used parmesan to finish my stock and it still tastes good)

Method:

• Put all the ingredients except water and shortening into a mixer fixed with a dough hook. Process till it resembles bread crumbs texture. Put in the water and continue mixing till you geta soft but pliable dough. Leave in a container covered with cling plastic for 1 hour till it doubles in size.
• For the sauce, heat your pot and put in the olive oil. Stir fry the chopped onion till fragrant and translucent. Next, put in all the other ingredients and stir until the sauce thickens. For your information, I let the sauce to cool off and I blended it to 'cover' the trail of the onion pieces- all in the name of getting some vege goodness! Mind you, mine are all carnivorous!
• Next, take out the dough and punch it to let the air out.
• Grease your baking tray/pizza mould with vegetable shortening/butter/margarine and roll your dough as thinly as possible. Let to rest for 10 minutes.
• Smear your dough with the sauce and arrange the topping of your choice.
• Sprinkle a generous amount of grated cheese.
• Bake at 170C for 25 minutes of till golden brown.
• Cut into squares and enjoy!