Shhhh, don’t tell the Italians that this is your kids favourite.

Of course you don’t argue the kids and tell them that it is not done to put pineapple on your pizza, just because the Italians say so. Pizza should be fun for all of us especially when you have the kids involved making them, and you should. Although Italians claim that fruit on a pizza is a no go zone, according to an Australian survey, Hawaiian Pizza is the most popular choice for a take-away. 15% of customers favour pineapple and ham a their favourite pizza topping. And Australia is not alone in their choice, in most countries Pizza Hawaii is the most commonly available.

History: Greek-Canadian Sam Panopoulos claimed that he created the first Hawaiian pizza at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ontario, Canada in 1962. Inspired in part by his experience preparing Chinese dishes which commonly mix sweet and savoury flavours, Panopoulos experimented with adding pineapple, ham, bacon and other toppings which were not initially very popular. The addition of pineapple to the traditional mix of tomato sauce and cheese, sometimes with ham or sometimes with bacon, soon became popular locally and eventually became a staple offering of pizzerias around the world

Wether you use fresh pineapple, the best ham, make your own pizza dough and pizza sauce or just get a ready made base, add canned pineapple and pre-packed honey leg ham, get the kids involved making their own pizza and enjoy this all time favourite.

Who connected us?!  When the boys organise a sleepover party at our place they often like me to make them pizza, easy to share on the deck after a late afternoon swim. They like to please their friends and ask for the most liked pizza toppings, hence Pizza Hawaii is on the list.

Makes: 4 medium size pizzas | Preparation of dough: 10 min |  Dough proving & resting time: 1,5 hours | Preparation of pizza ingredients; 10 min  |  Rolling & Baking: 15 minutes

 

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza dough recipe
• 1 pizza sauce recipe
• Pine apple, 1 small tin
• Your favourite choice off ham, 100g
• Pizza cheese, mozzarella or a combination of mozzarella and tasty cheese, 400g
• Fresh Basil, ¼ bunch
• Fresh Oregano, ¼ bunch

Assembling and baking your pizza

1. Start by making the Pizza Dough at least 1,5 hours before you have diner. Once the dough has risen and you divided the dough in portions to rest, you start preparing your other ingredients.
2. Prepare the pizza sauce
3. Wash the herbs and tear the leaves from the stems.
4. Slice the mozzarella cheese into ½ cm thick pieces. Or use grated mozzarella.
5. Slice the ham into small strips.
6. Pat-dry the pineapple and cut into small pieces. Make sure the pineapple is dry before you use it so the pizza does not get soggy.
7. Dust a clean surface and the dough with a little flour or semolina, and roll it out into a rough circle, about 3 mm thick. Or thicker if you prefer.
8. Use a Pizza Stone or if you do not have any a baking tray works as well. Sprinkle some polenta on top of the pizza stone to prevent the pizza from sticking.
9. With a fork, make little holes in the pizza, this will improve the chance of getting a crispy pizza.
10. Smooth sauce over bases with the back of a spoon working from the middle to the edge.
11. Scatter with the mozzarella cheese, then the ham, pineapple and herbs.
12. Put the pizza in the preheated oven. Bake for 8-10 mins until crisp. Serve with a little olive oil. Repeat from step 5 for remaining pizzas.

 

Notes:

Cheese; Mozzarella cheese is the first choice, but you can also get a combination of cheeses. Most stores sell pre-grated pizza cheese. As long as you do not use very hard cheeses like cheddar as it won’t melt well.

Pizza Sauce: You can use my basic Pizza Sauce recipe or just use a tin of diced tomatoes.

Fresh herbs; If you really can’t get any fresh herbs you can use some dried herbs instead, but it just is not the same. If you do use dried herbs I suggest to use it in the pizza sauce or sprinkle it on the pizza before baking, don’t add dried herbs once the pizza is baked.

Hot hot hot: Turn on your oven to it’s highest setting, most likely around 250C°. Traditionally pizzas are baked in a wood fired oven reaching up to 450C°.

Pineapple: Fresh pineapple is best, but tined pineapple makes live a lot easier.