Pineapple pizza scrolls
People have very strong opinions about whether pineapple belongs on pizza, and to them I say: don’t know it ‘til you try it! I love the way that pineapple cuts through the richness of cheesy pizza. While ham and pineapple go hand in hand (or is that ham in hand?), I’ve kept these vego, incorporating smokey paprika to bring the smoked meaty vibes. If you’d like, you could add a couple of slices of leg ham or mortadella to the square of dough before rolling.You’ll find ready-made pizza dough in the fridge section of the shops - or you could go to your local pizza place and ask them if you can buy a ball or two. If you’d prefer to make your own pizza dough, you can use my overnight dough from In Praise of Veg. You can even buy gluten-free pizza dough, pre-made (Ardor has so far been my favourite find) and ready to roll. If your pizza dough comes in smaller sized balls, feel free to split the filling across two smaller rectangles (15cm x 20cm), then slice into 6 scrolls each and nestle the 12 together onto the tray. It pays to seek out San Marzano tomatoes, which are from a region of Italy known for its rich, volcanic soil and temperate clime, which yields intensely sweet pomodoro. You’ll be able to find them at the supermarket or continental delis, and they’ll be labeled accordingly. If you can’t track them down, or would prefer to use the ones already in your pantry, add a pinch of sugar to fake the effect (a handy nonna trick that’s useful whenever you’re using tomatoes). If you have any tinned tomatoes left, freeze the leftovers in a freezer-friendly container, or add them to whatever soup or stew you’re making next.
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Ingredients
- 400 g ready made pizza dough
- 200 g san marzano whole peeled tomatoes
- ¼ tsp smoky paprika
- 250 g firm mozzarella coarsely grated
- 200 g fresh pineapple finely cubed
- Fresh basil optional but excellent
Instructions
- If you’re pulling it out of the fridge, allow your dough to come to room temperature on the kitchen bench - this will take a good hour.
- In a medium bowl, dump in the tin of tomatoes, smoked paprika and a pinch of salt. Squash together with your hands until the tomatoes have fallen apart and formed a chunky sauce.
- Preheat your oven to 220℃ (200℃ fan).
- Spread the dough out onto a clean, floured surface, and shape into a rectangle that’s roughly 30cm x 40cm.
- Schmear the tomato sauce evenly across the surface, followed by the cheese, pineapple and basil (if using). Don’t get too excited and over-fill, as you’ll still need to roll this up, and you don’t want it to burst.
- Roll the rectangle up into a log - though not too tightly as you want there to be space for the dough to puff up and cook. Once rolled, cut into 12 equal pieces and snuggle onto a greased and lined baking tray.
- Pop into your oven and cook for 20-25 minutes. The bread and cheese will be golden brown when done.
- Serve warm, or pop into lunch-boxes for lucky ducks.
