Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Before I worked in an Italian restaurant in Greece, my experience with pizza was minimal.

Fortunately, the owner was considered one of the best pizza chefs on the island. Roberto had been to a pizza technical institute – yes they have one Italy – as well as specialised gelato school for chefs who choose to specialise in such a craft.
An ex-designer shoe salesman from Milan, Roberto ran an 80-seat restaurant, La Dolce Vita. A large chunk of the restaurant's profits were from pizzas – I even delivered them on a scooter. The life skills I learned then are repeated every time I do a function at No 1 The Strand.
For Roberto, making pizza was an art form. The stretching of dough without tearing, the subtle amount of toppings; and the little tips (never touch the edge of the dough).
It's a million miles away from the pathetic, fast food excuse we get from tasteless, cheese-stuffed cardboard-texture bases readily available from your local.
Alas, I have yet to recreate the true flavour of a genuine Roberto Pizza, but I do have his tips and recipes; and I have, for this week, come up with a blondish pizza which you can make that tastes a lot like a real pizza should taste like.
Of course, this isn't Daz's 15 minute meal, so you do have to plan ahead. By adding honey and olive oil you get a crisp but moist pizza base.

Blondish Pizza
(makes two long pizzas)

Dough:
3.5 cups baker's flour (plus extra for dusting)
1.5tsp dry yeast
1Tbsp honey
1.5 cups warm water
2Tbsp sea salt flakes
2Tbsp olive oil

Blondish Sauce:
25g butter
½ cup flour
550-600ml milk
¼ glass white wine
1 cup grated parmesan
1 egg
Pepper and salt

Toppings:
(No set amounts here, but use less rather than more – dependant on how much you stretch the pizza)
Mozzarella, microgreens, ham, blue cheese, mushrooms, feta.

Method:
Add a cup of flour in a bowl, then warm honey and half a cup of water together until tepid. Pour from a height into the flour and loosely mix. This releases the glutens in the starter mix before the yeast is added. After five minutes add the yeast and a little more water – stir loosely and shake in the salt and olive oil. Stir into a thick batter, cover and rest in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
After this, the dough should have swelled considerably. Add more water, make a sloppy dough then add rest of flour to form a stiff but pliable dough.
Knead on a cool bench by pushing away from you, and bringing the dough back at least 12 times. Form into long log shapes and cut and roll into balls of an even size – dependant on your oven tray.
You will need about 170-200g as a base.
Cover and leave in a warm place for three hours.
While they rise, make the sauce by warming milk, then in a separate pot melt butter and add flour. Slowly add milk and whisk into a sauce. Cook for 3-4minutes to cook out the flour, stirring constantly.
Season, then add wine and take off the heat to whisk in egg and parmesan. Whisk until you get a nice thick sauce, then set aside (cover the top well to prevent a crust developing).
After three hours, form dough gently into shape without touching the edges. Spread on the sauce and embed toppings with a liberal amount of mozzarella to bind together.
For the photograph we have feta and microgreens, and ham and mushroom, with small dobs of blue cheese.
Rest the prepared pizza, again covered in a warm place, for another hour then bake at 250-280 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes.
Bake near the bottom of your oven, check half way through as you may have to shift the pizza higher up if the base is getting too dark.