Wealden Times | 189 | November 2017 | Gift supplement inside

Smoked salmon with fried capers
and crème fraîche
Makes enough for 2 x 25 cm (10 in) pizzas
This is the kind of pizza where the quality of the
ingredients is everything. Use the best smoked salmon you
can get, ideally organic and wild rather than farmed.
• 2 balls of pizza dough
(recipe on page 147)
• 160ml (⅔ cup) tomato
sauce (recipe on page 147)
• pinch of fine sea salt
• 2 tbsp drained capers
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 100g (3½ oz) good
quality smoked salmon,
torn into bite-sized pieces
• 250g (2 cups) grated
mozzarella
• 3-4 tbsp crème fraîche
1. Preheat the oven to 250°C/480°F/gas mark 9 or as high
as it will go. Place a pizza stone or an upside-down baking
tray in the oven to heat up too. Get all your ingredients
and equipment ready, including taking the dough out
of the fridge 1 hour before you’re ready to cook.
2. While the oven is heating up, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil
in a low-sided pan. Pat the capers dry with kitchen paper/
paper towels so that the hot oil doesn’t splash when you
put the capers in. Test the oil by adding one caper – if it
sizzles, it’s ready. Add all the capers to the hot oil and fry
for 1 minute, taking care not to let them burn. Scoop
out with a slotted spoon or a small fine-mesh sieve and
transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the
excess oil. Set aside – they will crisp up as they dry out.
3. Stretch the pizza dough by hand or roll it out. Sprinkle a
pinch of salt evenly over the dough, then brush a little olive
oil onto the rim with a pastry brush to help it turn golden.
4. Using a ladle or big spoon, pour the tomato sauce in the
centre of the dough. Spread the sauce over the pizza in
concentric circles with the back of the ladle or spoon,
leaving a 2.5cm (1 in) border clear around the edges
for the crust. You only want a thin layer of sauce.
5. Place a big handful of the grated mozzarella in a mound
in the middle of the dough. Use your palm to spread
it out evenly across the pizza, leaving the edges clear
for the crust. Scatter the smoked salmon on top of the
cheese, aiming to get a good balance across the pizza.
6. Check that there is no liquid on the peel or board or
your pizza won’t slide off it. Shake the board gently
to see if the pizza will move. If it doesn’t, lift up the
pizza with a dough cutter or spatula and sprinkle a
little flour on the board until it does move easily.
7. Slide the pizza off the peel or board onto the pizza stone
or upside-down baking tray in the hot oven. Cook for
7-10 minutes, but start checking it after 5 minutes – you
want the bottom and the crust to be cooked through
and golden and the cheese should be melted.
8. Take the pizza out of the oven and scatter over the fried
capers, then drizzle with the crème fraîche (put the
crème fraîche in a squeezy bottle if you have one). Allow
to stand for 1 minute before cutting into slices.
143 wealdentimes.co.uk