Animal Face Pizzas

It's fun making pizza dough and then laying out little bowls of toppings so that the children can use these to design faces on their pizzas.

This sauce is a good way to get children to eat more vegetables -- as what they can't see, they can't pick out. I have pureed the veg and tomatoes before cooking for 2 reasons. First it is easier to blend with more liquid and second it is easier to tell when the sauce is thick enough. If making as a sauce for pasta, cut down the cooking time a little so that the sauce is not so thick…

You can roll out the pizza dough and freeze it and then simply cook from frozen in about 15 minutes. The sauce can also be frozen separately.

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

Hidden Vegetable Sauce

Topping

Extra Toppings for Decoration

Directions

1. First make the dough. Put the flour, yeast and salt into a bowl and pour in the oil and water. Stir with a wooden spoon and then use your hands to mix everything together. Sprinkle a little extra flour over a clean work surface, then knead the dough for about 7 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Alternatively you can knead in an electric mixer using a dough hook for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Oil a large bowl, pop in the dough and cover with clingy plastic warp. Leave in a warm place for about one and a half hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
3. To make the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the vegetables for 8-10 minutes, until soft but not colored. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Transfer to a blender, add the tomato paste, ketchup, tomatoes and sugar and whiz until smooth. Return to the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Once you think the dough has risen you can test to see if it is ready. Poke holes in the dough and if the holes remain, its ready. Punch down with your fists and place on a floured surface. Knead the dough again for a couple of minutes. Divide the dough into 12 or 6 balls. Roll out using a rolling pin until about the thickness of a coin to 3.5 inches or 7 inch circles. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. For extra crispy bases, preheat a baking sheet until hot and put the pizzas on the hot baking sheets.
5. Spread the pizza sauce over each of the pizza bases. Arrange some sliced tomatoes and basil over the top. Sprinkle over the cheeses and season with salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden and crispy.
6. Once the pizza is cooked you can use your favorite toppings to decorate the pizzas with faces.

7. Variation: You could use split toasted English Muffins as bases for the pizzas if you don't have time to make your own dough. Simply preheat the grill to high. Toast the base of the muffin halves. Turn them over, then spread 1 tbsp of sauce on each cut surface. Scatter over the cheese and let the children design a face on their pizza made of vegetables. Grill for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbling.