Pizza Margherita

THERE is a restaurant in Naples called Da Michele, one of the oldest pizza houses, where they only bake two types of pizza. Neapolitan and Pizza Margherita, and they are jam-packed, making pizzas non-stop, all day long.

Fabulous, beautiful flavours. I have never had a Margherita or a Neapolitan anywhere in the world which tastes anything like it. It is distinctly, completely, a Neapolitan activity. We can only try to emulate it, we can never do more than that.

140 g (5oz) basic pizza dough

3 tablespoons basic tomato sauce

55g (2oz) fresh, hand-rolled Mozzarella torn into pieces or diced

15g (½oz) Parmesan, freshly grated

1 clove garlic, very finely sliced

Basil oil

8 fresh basil leaves

Salt to taste

Place the pizza tile on the floor of the oven and preheat to maximum for one hour. Stretch the dough into a 20cm (8 inch) circle. Spread the tomato sauce over the pizza, 10mm (½ inch) in from the rim.

Scatter the Mozzarella slices on top of the sauce. Sprinkle on the Parmesan and garlic and drizzle with the basil oil. Bake in the preheated oven for approx. 10 mins.

Serve garnished with the basil leaves.