N’duja, Egg & Kalamata Olives

I can almost taste the salty, spicy-sweet bite of this n’duja pizza as I write. It’s a popular pizza topping right now and available in most good artisan food stores. Pronounced en-DOO-ya, it’s a buttery, spreadable pork from Italy and we collaborated with chef Dan Cruickshank on this epic pizza. Here’s what Dan had to say and his recipe -

One of my favourite pizzas to make at home. We love spicy food and we love salami so n’duja is perfect. It’s spreadable, similar to asobrassada. It’s soft like butter so it melts on to the pizza. If you can’t get it in the shops, substitute it with a nice Gubbeen chorizo. Chorizo is more firm like the salamis you are used to, but still amazing on a pizza. This coupled with the olives make it quite salty. So this pizza is perfectly paired with a nice lager.

Quick red onion pickle. Thinly slice your red onion. Squeeze of lemon juice and a tsp of sugar if you want to sweeten them up. That’s it. Leave them for around 30 minutes until they are electric in colour.

Ingredients:

Pizza da Piero pizza base

Tomato Sauce

Torn mozzarella, one and half ball per pizza

N’duja( or chorizo if you can’t find it in shops)

Kalamata olives. Make sure they are de stoned

1 free range egg

Pickled red onions for garnish

Method:

1- Tomato sauce on base.

2-Scatter your torn mozzarella around the base.

3-Next add your nduja. It’s very soft so you can use a spoon to place it on the pizza. It is very salty and spicy so depending on your taste, go sparingly

4-Crack your egg in the centre and bang it in a hot oven for 6 minutes or depending on how you like your egg cooked a couple more minutes.

5-Serve with picked red onions scattered on top

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Nutella, banana and mascarpone pizza with digestive biscuits

While pizza is usually considered a savoury dish, Chef Dan Cruickshank https://chefcruickshank.carrd.co/ came up with this sinful Nutella and banana dessert pizza for us. The kids were so excited to make this with Piero!

Here’s Dan’s recipe - Nutella, banana and mascarpone pizza with digestive biscuits

Ingredients -

• Pizza da Piero Pizza base

• Nutella

• Digestive biscuits smashed up

• Mascarpone

• Banana sliced

Method -

1. On the base spread your Nutella. Scatter banana and biscuit

2. Into a hot oven for about 4 to 5 minutes until the banana starts to caramelise

3. Finish with generous scoop of mascarpone on each slice

4. You can add marshmallow and chopped nuts too. Great for kids to make their own dessert pizza at parties.

Flammenkuchen (White Pizza)

Here’s another incredible recipe from chef Dan Cruickshank - https://www.instagram.com/chefcruickshank/ from way back in March when we were so lucky to host the most amazing day of cooking and photography with Dan and Shilpa from https://www.instagram.com/soulful_and_healthy/

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Dan - This is my own version of Flammenkuchen. Although not typically accurate, it is a nice change from your regular tomato based pizza. I generally serve these sliced a little thinner as it is a very rich pizza, the crème fraiche and the cheese work so well together. The cracked black pepper really brings out the nutty flavour of the comte cheese. I would serve this with cold glass of Reisling  

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 Ingredients :

Pizza da Piero pizza base 

I tub of crème fraiche

Comte

1 onion finely sliced

Streaky rasher

Cracked black pepper

Method :

1 - Crisp up your rashers on a hot pan or in the grill and set aside

2 - Spoon your crème fraiche on your base. Liberally, add cracked black pepper on top.

3 - Grate your comte on top. If you can’t get comte use gruyere or any hard Alpine cheese.

4 - Add your crispy rashers on top. In a hot oven for 5 minutes.

5 - Add your thinly sliced white onion.

6 - Serve with fresh rocket and some more cracked black pepper.

Ribeye Steak & Garlic Butter

A few months ago we threw the best pizza party! We invited chef Dan Cruikshank over to our home to make us some incredible pizzas and the very talented photographer Shilpa from Soulful and Healthy took photos.

Dan came up with all the recipes and his first one was this Ribeye Steak with Garlic Butter. This is the perfect pizza for any meat lover looking for that something a bit more special.

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Wild garlic and parsley butter. 

• Wash and roughly chop wild garlic. 

• Dice parsley and mix with room temp salted butter. 

• Make a sausage shape and roll in cling. Great for keeping in the fridge and taking it out as you need it. 

• If garlic season is finished, regular garlic will work. As would any type of herb.

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Ingredients -

Pizza da Piero pizza base

Rib eye steak sealed off and par cooked

Wild Garlic butter (recipe above)

Pizza sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

Method -

Spoon your tomato sauce on the base.

Add your torn mozzarella.

Place your sliced steak across the pizza. I like mine rare so I just give it a quick flash in a pan to caramelise the outside leaving the inside nice and red. It will cook more on top of the pizza.

Slice your chilled butter and place a couple slices on the pizza

Bake in oven at the highest temp for 3-5 minutes

Vegan Green Pesto Pizza

We connected with Beatrice from https://www.instagram.com/thenourishedbowl/ recently on Instagram and were delighted when she agreed to collaborate with us. Beatrice cooks plant based recipes for her family and her Instagram page is full of wonderful recipes so check her out!

Beatrice says “Being vegan doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to pizza, green pesto gives you all the flavour here”

Here’s her recipe for a delicious vegan pesto pizza…

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Method :

1. Heat your oven to 250C.
2. Bring a small pot of water to the boil.
3. Cut the stems off the broccoli. (Keep to use in stir fries, tofu scramble, green smoothies etc)
4. When the water is boiling, add the broccoli and leave for exactly 2.5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Pat dry.
5. Spread the pesto all over the pizza base. (Note: If you are using the basil pesto from @thehappypear, this represents 1/2 pot). 6. With a vegetable peeler, cut about 8-10 ribbons off the courgette.
7. Distribute the broccoli, courgette ribbons, tomatoes and olives evenly over the pizza base.
8. Add a sprinkle of olive oil (or chilli oil if you like).
9. Place the pizza in the oven for 5 minutes.
10. Remove, add rocket leaves and fresh pepper and serve

Ingredients :

1 @pizza_da_piero pizza base.
90g green pesto (such as Basil Pesto from @thehappypear)
100g tenderstem broccoli.
1 small courgette
8-10 pitted black olives
4-5 small baby plum tomatoes, sliced
Handful of rocket leaves
Olive oil or chilli oil
Pepper

Pizza Bismarck (Breakfast Pizza)

Nothing says comfort like a pizza, even a simple Margherita. But the satisfaction can run much deeper when your pizza is made with fresh, handmade bases and quality toppings.

We recently had to create a pizza exclusively for Irish Country Magazine readers. A lot of recipe ideas came and went, but the idea of a cracked egg on top of our pizza bases stuck with us. We knew we wanted to create a really tasty pizza, so began thinking about flavours and textures. This is our take on a Pizza Bismarck. Perfect for a lazy Saturday/Sunday brunch with a nice glass of Prosecco!

Ingredients :

• 1 Pizza da Piero pizza base

• Pizza Sauce

• 8 Smoked Pancetta strips

• 100g Salsa Tartufata Truffle and Mushroom Sauce (we got this from Italicatessen)

• 1 egg

• 1 tin of Porcini Mushrooms (or any fresh sautéed mushrooms)

• Handful of fresh rocket

• 1 pack of fresh Buffalo Mozzarella

Method :

1 - Spread the pizza sauce on the base

2 - Lay out the Pancetta strips leaving rom in the middle for the egg

3 - Scatter a handful of Mushrooms over the Pancetta

4 - Using a spoon, dot the Salsa Tartufata over the pizza

5 - Crack the egg into the middle

6 - Bake in oven at highest temp for 3 - 5 minutes. The crust should be crispy but not burnt.

7 - Remove from the oven and garnish with the rocket and mozzarella.

Wild Nettle Pesto Pizza

We’re foraging nettles to make a ‘super food’ pesto for our feature in www.irishcountrymagazine.ie July/August issue. Nettles grow abundantly in Ireland, but are more often looked at as weeds than the nutrient dense plants they really are. With high levels of Vitamins A and C, iron, and protein, they make a very tasty and free ingredient for your summer pizza.

Ingredients - Pesto

• 50g of young wild nettle leaves

• 50g of fresh basil leaves

• 50g parmesan cheese

• 1 garlic clove

• 50g pine nuts, toasted

• 50ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

1 - Bring a pot of water to the boil, then drop in the nettles and cook for 2 minutes.

2 - Drain and run the nettles under cold water. Squeeze out as much water as possible and chop. (if you don’t want to use nettles, you can use 100g of fresh basil)

3 - Put the nettles, fresh basil and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and blitz to a rough paste.

4 - Transfer to a clean jar or bowl.

Ingredients -

• Pizza da Piero pizza bases

• Pizza Sauce

• 80g nettle and basil pesto

• 150g of blue cheese, crumbled

• 2 red onions

• 400g fresh tomatoes

• Olive Oil

Method -

1 - Pre heat your oven to the highest temperature

2 - Peel and slice the onions into rounds

3 - Preheat a grill pan. Toss your sliced onion in olive oil and grill on both sides until onion is tender and caramelised .

4 - Dice the fresh tomato, toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

5 - Spread the pizza sauce on to the pizza base and scatter the blue cheese on top.

6 - Bake in the oven for 3 - 5 minutes

7 - Remove the pizza from the oven and using a spoon, dot on the pesto.

8 - Scatter the grilled red onion, top with the fresh tomato and serve.

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Vegan Pesto Pizza

Bord Bia estimates that now 8% of the Irish population are vegetarian, 2% are vegan and a whole lot more are flexitarian. We’ve been thinking about vegan pizza ideas for a while now and I came across this very delicious one by Sarah @wellandfull who shares plant based recipes. What drew me to this pizza was the homemade pesto. I’m a sucker for it. Love the fresh taste it gives but I find basil can be expensive.

This recipe replaces basil with mixed salad leaves and it’s basically the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. Sarah’s pizza uses homemade cashew cheese, (which I will attempt to make one day!), but for my take on the recipe I have used Violife Vegan cheese that I picked up in my local Tesco. If anyone out there has suggestions for vegan cheese for pizza please please get in touch!!!

Ingredients -

Pesto -

• 1 small shallot

• 2 cloves garlic

• 3 cups mixed leaves

• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix until you get a slightly chunky pesto. Place in a bowl.

Pizza -

Pizza da Piero pizza base

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pack of Violife grated vegan cheese (or any vegan cheese suitable for pizzas)

Handful of mixed leaves

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Method -

1 - Heat oven to highest temperature

2 - Spread about a tablespoon of Oil on your pizza base

3- Layer the base with the pesto

4 - Top with cheese

5 - Bake in oven for 3-5 minutes.

6 - Top with mixed leaves to serve

Slice and enjoy.

There you go, the most simple and tasty vegan pizza there is!

Ham, Mushroom & Grilled Peppers

Happy weekend everyone! Summer has arrived so we’re firing up the BBQ and grilling lots of lovely vegetables.

Grilled Peppers have a rich and sweet taste, enough to give any pizza some va-va-voom. Add some Mixed Wild Mushrooms grilled with garlic for a lovely earthy flavour when combined with Ham will guarantee a delicious, comforting pizza that will have you making this pizza again and again.

Remember, as our pizzas only take between 3-5 minutes to cook in the oven, all vegetables should be pre cooked.

Ingredients -

• Pizza da Piero pizza bases

• Pizza Sauce

• Fresh Mozzarella

• Cooked Ham

• Wild Mushrooms (pre sauteéd in garlic)

• Grilled Peppers

• Fresh Rocket to serve

Method -

1- Pre heat oven to the highest temperature

2 - Spread pizza sauce on your pizza base

3 - Sprinkle with Mozzarella

4 - Top with Ham, Mushrooms & Grilled Peppers

5-Bake in the oven for 3-5 minutes. Until edges of crust are browned lightly and cheese melts.

6 - Garnish with fresh rocket

7-Slice and enjoy!

Tomato, Mozzarella & Basil Pesto Pizza

Ever since we found out Award Winning Food Blogger, Shilpa Razniewska of Soulful and Healthy was a fan of our bases, we knew we had to get her to share a pizza recipe with us! It is inspired by her very own trip to Italy’s idyllic Lake Como and the flavours on this pizza are just summer on a plate. This pizza is the perfect treat on weekends and kids will love it too!

Like us, Shilpa is passionate about making and eating healthy, wholesome food. Not only one of the best food bloggers in Ireland, Shilpa is a talented food stylist and food photographer. Check out her beautiful and delicious recipes on Instagram 📸 soulful_and_healthy

Cliona & Piero

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When I first moved to Ireland in 2012 my husband and I were exploring different kinds of cuisines and different ways of cooking as well. It was that time we discovered Piero’s pizza bases and when we first tried it at home, I was quite impressed by its quality, it was nothing like a ready-made base bought from the store. The texture is same as you would make at home. So, since 2012 I can’t even count the number of times, we have made different varieties of pizza using Piero’s pizza base and it has never disappointed us at all. The quality and taste are the same even now as it was when we used it for the first time.

Although I have learnt to make my own pizza base at home, at times when I don’t feel like making it but still crave for a pizza we always go for this base. I love that it is thin crust and stone baked. It’s light and delicious! We hardly order take away these days after we found out this amazing base.

This pizza is inspired by one of our trips to Italy in the beginning of 2012, when I went to meet my husband, back then my boyfriend. We visited the town of Lake Como and it was absolutely beautiful, I am so glad we went back there again in summer years after with our little boy. We had dinner at a restaurant in Lake Como and there we ordered pizza which was topped rocket leaves.

This recipe I am sharing is inspired by the pizza we ate there. After that we made these many times at home and each time using Piero’s pizza base and it reminded us of our trip to Italy.

The perfect stone baked and thin crust is ideal for a quick, delicious and tasty pizza anytime. Topped with beef tomatoes, mozzarella balls, pesto and fresh rocket leaves it is the perfect combination of all things delicious.

I am sharing my version of this pizza you can make it however you like it too. With any toppings of your choice. For the sauce I prefer using simple passata, you can use pizza sauce as well. Piero's stone baked pizza bases are great for any kind of topping, or even a simple Pizza Margarita!

I really hope you enjoy this pizza as much as we have been enjoying it for years.

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Ingredients -

• 2 Piero's Stonebaked pizza bases

• 1 cup Pizza sauce or passata

• 1 thinly chopped beef tomato

• 1 Mozzarella ball sliced

• 2 tsp pesto

• 1 cup grated mozzarella

• Freshly ground pepper to season

• 1/2 tsp dried Italian mixed herbs

• Handful of fresh rocket leaves to serve

Method -

1. Pre-heat the oven to 250 degree Celsius

2. Spread the pizza sauce on each pizza, sprinkle mozzarella, arrange the tomatoes and mozzarella slices

3. Add the pesto on the sliced mozzarella. Season with dried herbs and fresh ground pepper

4. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 5 to 7 minutes

5. When serving garnish with fresh rocket leave. Bon Appetit!