Munch on fresh fig and prosciutto pizza with gorgonzola on béchamel sauce
From the crunch of a piping-hot pizza to the textural sweetness of a rhubarb, mascarpone and vanilla bean jaffle, we’re head-over-heels in love with street food. The food-truck phenomenon has taken off around the globe, with all sorts of snacks and brews emerging from the windows of these roaming restaurants. Now, some of the nation’s best food trucks have hurtled into your kitchen in the form of new cookbook, Food Truck Feasts. Erika Budiman has collated recipes from the likes of Sydney’s Street Sliders and Brisbane’s Juan More Taco, to share the cooks’ secrets with you. Make the most of the G20 lockdown this weekend by gathering friends and family, and trying your hand at crafting the fresh fig, gorgonzola and prosciutto pizza famously whipped up in the 1960s Airstream caravan of Melbourne’s Happy Camper Pizza.
INGREDIENTS
Pizza dough
250 ml lukewarm water
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
450 g high-protein flour or 00 pizza flour
Bechamel sauce
40 g butter
2 tablespoons cornflour
250 ml milk
sea salt
cracked pepper
ground nutmeg
240 g grated mozzarella cheese
200 g gorgonzola cheese, broken into small pieces
12 fresh figs, halved
1 cup rocket leaves
24 slices parma prosciutto
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
TO MAKE
Make the pizza dough first. In a large bowl, combine the water, salt and yeast. Add the flour and continue to combine until a dough forms.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour or semolina and knead the dough for five to ten minutes, until smooth. Lightly dust the bowl with flour and place the dough back in it. Cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place to proof for at least one hour, until doubled in size.
Dust the work surface again with flour. Divide the dough into four portions. Wrap each portion in a damp cloth and allow to proof further. Happy Camper Pizza leaves its dough for a minimum of four hours, but if pushed for time you can use the dough after 15 minutes.
To make the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the cornflour and cook for one minute. Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly add the milk, using a whisk or wooden spoon to combine. Return the saucepan to a low heat and stir regularly until the sauce begins to thicken. Add salt, pepper and a sprinkle of nutmeg, and set aside to cool.
To prepare the pizzas, preheat the oven to its highest temperature. Lightly dust your work surface with semolina or flour, and roll out a pizza dough portion to your desired thickness.
Lightly spread the pizza base with the béchamel sauce. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella, then lay some gorgonzola on top. Transfer the pizza onto a preheated pizza stone or baking paper and cook in the oven for five to ten minutes, until golden and crisp.
Top the cooked pizza with fresh figs, rocket and prosciutto. Drizzle a small amount of balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the top. Season with salt and pepper.
Recipe and images from Food Truck Feasts by Erika Budiman. Published by Hardie Grant, RRP $34.95.
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