Sean Kaisar won the reader recipe competition for his pizza recipe. He says “this is a very popular Middle Eastern pizza. I learnt this recipe from my mother who was born in Iran."
Sauce
| 3 | Tomatoes, large, chopped (Main) |
| 3 cloves | Garlic |
| 1 tsp | Dried basil |
| 1 tsp | Dried oregano |
| 1 tsp | Sugar |
| 1 tsp | Salt |
| 10 ml | Olive oil |
| 2 tsp | Tomato paste |
Pizza
| 100 g | Lamb fillets, cut in 1cm cubes (Main) |
| 150 g | Feta, Persian, or creamy |
| 2 Tbsp | Rosemary, chopped |
| 2 Tbsp | Mint, chopped, plus extra leaves to garnish |
| 1 | Eggplant, large, cut in 2cm circles |
| 5 | Cherry tomatoes, chopped in half |
| 1 tsp | Turmeric powder |
| 1 ½ cups | Mozzarella cheese, shredded (Main) |
| 1 bottle | Vegetable oil, for frying |
| 1 | Pizza base |
Directions
- For the sauce, put all ingredients in a blender and make a puree. Heat a saucepan and cook the puree over a medium heat, stirring constantly. When the liquid has reduced and formed a sauce, turn of the heat and set aside.
- Place the lamb and feta in two separate bowls and divide the rosemary and mint between them. Cover both with oil. It is better to marinade them one day beforehand.
- Pour some oil in a frying pan (about 2cm). Add turmeric and fry the eggplant over medium to low heat on each side. Drain on paper towel to absorb excess oil.
- To make the pizza, spread the pizza sauce over a pizza base, followed by some mozzarella cheese. Then layer the fried eggplants followed by the rest of the mozzarella. Add diced lamb, feta and cherry tomatoes. Bake for 15-20 min in a 180C oven. Garnish with some fresh chopped mint.
More recipes
For more winning reader recipes,go to this collection.