Grilled Pizza with Smoked Salmon, Capers and Mascarpone

, from Issue #39. September, 2015
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Grilled Pizza with Smoked Salmon, Capers and Mascarpone

This versatile dough can help take the stress out of entertaining as it can be made 1-2 days ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to use.

INGREDIENTS

Dough
2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons instant dried yeast
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
200 ml warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mascarpone
½ cup mascarpone
½ cup sour cream
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed
finely grated zest 1 lemon
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives or flat-leaf parsley
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Topping
1 red onion, very thinly sliced
200 grams sliced smoked salmon
3 tablespoons capers
watercress or rocket leaves

METHOD

Dough: Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the water and olive oil together and stir into the flour to make a loose dough. Tip onto a lightly floured bench. Dust hands with flour and bring the dough together then knead for a few minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Try not to add extra flour – the dough will become less sticky with kneading.

Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size or place in the fridge for up to two days.

Mascarpone: Combine the ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

To cook: Preheat a barbecue flat plate. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and roll out thinly on a lightly floured bench. Brush one side with olive oil and prick with a fork to help stop the dough from puffing up too much. Place oiled side down on the barbecue, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Brush the uncooked side with olive oil and turn over.

Spread the grilled side with a thin layer of the mascarpone cream, reserving the remainder, and scatter with red onion. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and top with two slices of smoked salmon. Add small spoonfuls of the mascarpone, a few capers and watercress or rocket leaves and serve immediately. Makes about 6 x 12cm pizzas