When the first episode of Hugh's War On Waste was shown on TV #wastenotwantnot was trending in the UK within the first half hour. Such was the outrage of the British public regarding the unfair practices by supermarkets towards their growers and suppliers and the shocking waste perpetrated by their cosmetic standards that it caused a social media storm.
Needless to say, I was overjoyed by the reaction, however, I had to ask myself, were people so completely unaware of the situation? Given that we have become so accustomed to over supply and overindulgence, will our outrage be a storm in a teacup?
Globally we waste enough food each year to build a mountain 2 miles across and 8,000 feet high, how can we justify this when there are still so many suffering from food poverty and starvation?
Unfortunately, as I don't have a dog (let alone chickens or pigs) the combobulation of leftovers and scraps found each week in my fridge are fed to my family. Last week I had accumulated some odds and ends, garlic and anchovy paste, some cheese sauce, a bit of leftover chicken stir fry, homemade tomato sauce, leftover tuna and half a mozzarella ball. They all desperately needed using up but I couldn't think of a way to combine them into one 'delicious' meal. Then the penny dropped! Pizza started off as a means for Italian housewives to use up leftovers such as bread dough, tomatoes, cheese and whatever else they had in their cupboard and my leftovers lent themselves very well to pizza (ok, maybe not the chicken stir fry, but it went on anyway!)
Hotch potch pizza
Recipe
For the dough
500g strong plain flour
2 teaspoons salt
10g yeast
325ml lukewarm water
Put the flour and salt in a large bowl
Dissolve yeast in warm water and gradually add to the flour, mixing well until you obtain a dough
Shape into a ball and cover with a cloth, rest for 5 minutes
Knead the dough for 10 minutes (very therapeutic) until smooth and elastic
Split dough in half and Shape each into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise for 30 minutes
Sprinkle some flour onto a clean surface and carefully spread your dough with your fingers, or roll with a rolling pin into a circle about 35-40 cm in diameter, making the border slightly thicker
Preheat the oven to 250c/gas mark 10
Put your pizza bases on flat baking trays and now you can top them as you please, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle cheese (good way of using up older pieces of cheese) and chopped tomatoes on top, tuna and sweetcorn, leftover ham or chicken pieces......
Place in the hot oven for 7-10 minutes depending how crisp you like your pizza
Remove from the oven, drizzle with olive oil, season and eat immediately
There's really nothing easier than knocking up a bit of pizza dough, and topping the pizzas is also great fun if you've got children, and if you're using up leftovers it makes for a wonderfully economical meal!
'The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.'
- Calvin Trillin.
I'm pretty sure that'll be the epitaph on my tombstone!
Love Donna xxxxxxxxx
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