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'Margherita made wrong' – margherita pizza

by Franco Pepe
  1. 'Margherita made wrong' - margherita pizza
Item 1 of 1
  • Main
  • medium
  • Makes 1
  • 30 minutes
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Franco Pepe's margherita pizza recipe is not your standard margherita pizza. Franco Pepe first scatters mozzarella over the base, then pipes over vibrant stripes of tomato and basil purées. Use the great chef's pizza dough recipe for a base as perfect as the toppings.

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Ingredients

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'Margherita made wrong' - margherita pizza

SAVE RECIPE

Equipment

  • Hand blender
  • Mouli
  • Squeezy bottle 2

Method

1
If making at home without a pizza oven, preheat a fan oven to 250°C
2
To prepare the basil reduction, blitz together some basil leaves, salt and extra virgin olive oil with a hand blender until you obtain a smooth and consistent purée. Transfer to a squeezy bottle
3
Make a tomato purée using a food mill or mouli to remove the skin, seeds and water, leaving a nice smooth sauce. Season with salt if necessary and transfer to a squeezy bottle
4
Shape a 250g piece of pizza dough into a large disc, leaving the edges slightly thicker than the middle
5
Arrange the buffalo mozzarella over the base and drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil. Cook in a pizza oven for about 90 seconds (or in the fan oven for 6–7 minutes)
6
Remove from the oven and draw some lines with the tomato purée. Dot the basil purée all over the pizza and serve

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First published in 2017

Franco Pepe

Not all pizzas are made equal, but those that grace Franco Pepe’s pizza oven are the best in the world. His family have been baking in Campania for three generations, and his pizza restaurant is now internationally recognised.

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