Salami & Veggies Pizza 萨拉米香肠与蔬果比萨

When I unsealed my packet of salami, everyone at home shied away. They covered their noses and  yelled "Smelly! (臭!)". Errr.....what do you expect out of air dried fermented sausages? I knew instantly that I could not serve the salami as it should be - cold cuts. 

To make it palatable for my family members, I needed to mask the pungent fermented smell. Otherwise, the salami would go to waste. My quick fix was to make them into a Salami & Veggies Pizza  萨拉米香肠与蔬果比萨. I was counting on the cheese to make the salami from 'Appalling' to 'Appealing'. Actually, my version of the pizza is not so true to its name. Strictly speaking, except for the red cabbage, tomatoes and olives are fruits, not vegetables. I did not use red cabbage just for its colour. It is one of the vegetables that would not turn soggy in the high heat oven.

Salami can be overwhelming in taste. Besides cheese, I decided to introduce lots of veggies/fruits to balance the taste and feel. Believe it or not, the Salami & Veggies Pizza  萨拉米香肠与蔬果比萨 turned out to be surprisingly pleasing. All gone in the wink of an eye! 

It was well worthwhile my 30-minutes prep cum cook time. 

Ingredients (enough for a large 12" pizza) :

• 15 to 20 pcs of salami
• 1 large piece of pizza crust (i used off-the-rack Mission brand)
• 3 tbsp thick tomato paste (Recipe for freshly made ones here)(I used canned tomato paste this time).
• 1 cup shredded or finely chopped red cabbage  
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes (sliced to halves)
• 8 black olives (sliced)(I used bottled ones from supermarket)
• 150 gm grated mozzarella cheese
• few sprigs of mint (for garnishing)(if you like the taste of mint leaves, they balance the pizza taste really well)

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon)    

Method : 

1. Pre-heat oven at 200 degrees celsius or 392 degrees fahrenheit. 
2. Spread tomato paste evenly on pizza crust.
3. Spread 80% of shredded red cabbage over tomato paste. 
4. Lay salami pieces on red cabbage.
5. Lay tomatoes and olives.
6. Spread the remaining 20% red cabbage evenly.
7. Spread shredded mozzarella cheese atop.
8. When ready, turn oven to 220 degrees celsius or 428 degrees fahrenheit.
9. Transfer pizza to oven and bake for 15 minutes.
10. When ready, garnish and serve with sprigs of fresh mint.

Tip : If you are making your own dough, do remember to dock your pizza base with a fork or docker. This is to avoid your pizza crust from bubbling and blowing up in the oven.

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What I find unforgettable in this Salami & Veggies Pizza  萨拉米香肠与蔬果比萨 - the moments when the roasted tomatoes squirted in the mouth. The acidity of tomatoes in the mouth goes really well with the salami and cheese. This is one pizza that leaves a long aftertaste....