I don't know what's up with Filipinos and sweet versions of anything--sweet ketchup (in banana and apple variety), sweet spaghetti sauce /cringe/, sweet tomato sauce used in tomato-based viands, and my biggest pet peeve--sweet pizza sauce.
My teenage brother loves eating those cheap stuff found in convenience stores and gas station mini grocers and if I see him eat another one of those, I swear I'm gonna snatch a box of that abominably sweet rip-off from Hell and throw it on the ground.
Okay, that was an exaggeration. Most likely, I'll just frown on him and make my own pizza.
Momeki Kiddie Pizza Supreme
As you could see, I used pre-made kiddie-sized pizza crust. Don't hate on me, guys >_< The pizza sauce is pureed in a blender, or if you prefer a chunkier sort, you may skip that step. Aside from the sauce, everything else is just chop, grate and toss on the crust.
Most Italian style tomato-based sauces start with tomatoes, onions, garlic, then spices. Because I'm bad with measurements, I will refer to Titli's ratio of ingredients.
So, Titli's not exactly Italian (she's British) and neither am I. This is just how I make pizza sauce (that is, pizza sauce inspired by Titli's recipe). The only thing different about my recipe from hers is that I skipped the red bell pepper and added an Italian seasoning spice mix in addition to the teaspoon of dried oregano. On busy days, I just pop open a pack of Italian style pizza sauce (from Del Monte) and assemble everything.
Since I've been talking about making picky kids and teens eat actual food, I am going to write about how pizza sauce is made from scratch.
This recipe yields around 6 kiddie pizza rounds.
Ingredients
1 whole white onion, finely chopped
6 overripe tomatoes, deseeded, peeled and chopped into small cubes
OR a can of peeled tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp light brown sugar (to balance the acidity)
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
3 large basil leaves, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp of oregano
1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
To learn how to make pizza dough from scratch, just go to Titli's Busy Kitchen :D
a pack of pizza cheese (part mozzarella, part cheddar)
15-20 slices of pepperoni
1/2 white onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
5-6 button mushrooms, sliced
2 slices of ham, cut into squares
Directions
1. Heat the olive in a deep-set pan. When oil is hot enough, add the onions and follow up with garlic. Gently sauté for 5 minutes or until the onions are nice and tender.
2. After which, add in the tomatoes. Then, add the sugar, oregano, Italian seasoning, tomato paste, and bay leaves. Bring them to a boil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Gently fold the seasonings in and cover the pan. Simmer under medium heat for 30 minutes.
4. After simmering the sauce, remove the lid and turn off the heat. Add the chopped basil leaves.
At this point, you could pop this in a blender or food processor and purée until smooth and tomato sauce-y. Or, you could leave it to cool and have a chunky sauce.
5. In another pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil (or cooking oil) and sauté the ham, pepperoni, and mushrooms. If you don't roll that way, that's fine, too and just put them on the dough directly. I was just used to cooking the meat and mushrooms before putting them on the pizza /is paranoid about salmonella/
6. After you watched Titli make the pizza crust from scratch, assemble your pizza starting with the sauce, then the cheese, then everything else.
7. Since I don't have a conventional oven, I bake this in my toaster until the cheese melts and the crust turns golden brown (approximately 200+ degrees C in 6-10 minutes).
Your choice of pizza toppings are not limited to the ones indicated on the ingredients list. Actually when I first made them pizza in this manner, my teen bro removed the onions, mushrooms and bell peppers and my baby bro only ate the parts with cheese and tomato sauce.
When I made them another one, I just put cheese, finely minced garlic, chopped parsely, chopped basil leaves and lots of cheese as pizza toppings. Finally, they finished everything without removing any topping!
I am quite pleased that my brothers are picking up my tastes in food /somehow/. When we eat in a pizza place, I prefer the simple flavors like mozzarella and garlic or margherita.
If you have left over sauce, you could use it on stale bread (or whole wheat bread) and add scrambled eggs and smoked ham (plus cheese, tomatoes and lettuce) and you got yourself an Italian style open-faced breakfast sandwich~ :D
There are lots of things that you could top with pizza sauce :D What sort of pizza flavor are you into? I look forward to your thoughts (and interesting pizza flavors)~! :D
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