I spent an incredible weekend in Galway City recently and was blessed…literally blessed twice with two incredible foodie joints that literally blew the socks clean off my feet. The first was The Pie Maker on Cross Street which is a teeny weeny little gaff that serves the most incredible pies, mash and mushy peas – check them out! The second was what I can only describe as a ‘craft’ pizza joint – The Dough Bros over on Upper Abbey Gate St and its these guys that have inspired this Pizza recipe – and in fact it was on this visit that I first encountered Nduja Sausage on a pizza……the second reason my socks left my feet!

So this recipe is a hat tip to the boys in The Dough Bros but I’ve super charged it with Porchetta – maybe gilding the lily here but what the hell!

WHAT YOU NEED – 1 x 9″ pizza

BASE

200 grms strong white bread flour

50 grms semolina flour

10 grms dried yeast

150 mls luke warm water

10 grms sugar

25 mls good olive oil

Sauce

1 tin of plum tomatoes (as good a quality as you can get!)

2 tps sugar

salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic crushed

Splash of red wine vinegar

Topping

1 full fat ball of mozzarella  cheese

About 100 grms of Nduja Sausage

A scatter of finely sliced porchetta – 6- 8 pieces

50 grms fresh grated parmesan cheese

1 over-ripe tomato, seeded and sliced

METHOD: Base

So first up get the dough together, I know it looks like there is a lot happening here but trust me its more simple than the ‘bank’ of ingredients suggests!

In a mixer, combine the flours, yeast, salt, sugar, oil and water – ‘all-in-the-bath’ – use a dough hook and get it going for about 10 minutes. Alternatively combine everything in a bowl and manually knead for 15-20 minutes tops. You want smooth elastic dough.

Leave in the bowl to rise for a couple of hours at least (you can run it out over 24 hours by the way for a sourdough stylie base)

METHOD: Sauce

In a wide frying pan soften the garlic in a little oil then add the tin of tomatoes – break them up with a wooden spoon, season and leave to reduce down over a low heat – 15 minutes should do it. Finish it by straining and leaving to cool completely – season to taste.

METHOD: Assembly and cooking

When the dough has risen by at least double (the more the merrier) knock it back and pull it out into a rough circle using your fingers or if you dig on the super crispy then use a rolling pin to get  the dough down to about 2mils thick. Lay the base on a wide pizza tray, add the tomato sauce, ‘rips’ of Mozarella, chunks of Nduja, the slices of tomato then slices of Porchetta.

You don’t need to be clinical with the assembly, rustic and care-free is good!

To cook, get your oven as hot a hell – as high as it will go and sling the pizza in. This outta take no more than 15 minutes to cook depending on the quality of your oven so use your eyes to gauge and shake the pizza in the pan to check its ‘done-ness’…you will actually hear the pizza move in the pan when it’s nice and crisp.

Finish with a throw of fresh parmesan and stick this bad boy in your face….or someone else’s face!

Done deal! Thanks to The Dough Bros for the inspiration and the fact that they utterly rock at what they do – check them out, you will not regret it!