Teaching English in Korea sets you up with a pretty solid deal: free apartment, solid pay, and fully paid airfare.  One down side, however, is the lack of ovens in the apartments.  After a few months, I’ve really started to crave baked things solely because I can’t have them.  One of these things is pizza.  Sure, you can pick up a take-out from several places, but it’s usually Korea-fied pizza and not as good as a homemade pie.  Plus, it’s not so easy to get decent cheese in this country: you’re pretty much limited to plastic American sandwich cheese or paying an arm and a leg for a tiny piece of brie at the supermarket.  Luckily, J saved the particularly hormonal-craving day by suggesting a pizza in a pan.  It was super cheap, easy, and absolutely delicious.  Enjoy!

Prep time: 5-10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes for sauce, 5 minutes for cheese (plus 10 to rest), 5 minutes for crust

Ingredients:

Crust:

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • about 1 cup of water, until you achieve a pliable, but dry dough

Sauce:

  • 1 15 oz can tomato paste, or 4 fresh tomatoes
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp basil
  • 50 g mushrooms, chopped
  • 2 green chillies, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Cheese:

  • 1 liter milk
  • 2 lemons, freshly squeezed

Method:

Pour 1 liter of milk into a pot, and bring to a light boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.  When it begins to bubble, remove from heat and stir in the fresh lemon juice.  If you want, you can spice up the cheese with seasonings of your choice.  Set aside and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Using a cheese cloth (or something similar), drain the mixture- you’re left with delicious ricotta.

Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large pan over low heat, then add finely chopped garlic.  Chop mushrooms, onions, and chillies, then add to the pan.  Sauté  for a few minutes before adding tomatoes/tomato sauce and seasoning.  Stir regularly until all vegetables are cooked.

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  While the cheese is setting and the sauce is cooking, add flour, water, and salt (to taste) to a mixing bowl.  Stir with a fork until you achieve a pliable, yet dry, dough.  Roll out and drop into the warm pan.  Cook for 2-2 1/2 minutes on one side, then flip. Top with sauce and freshly made ricotta cheese, and cook for about another 2 1/2-3 minutes.  Slide from the pan, and serve.

Yields 2 flat pizzas made in a 10 inch pan