Fijian Inspired Pizza

Fijian Inspired Pizza

I call this an inspired pizza because they never actually served us a pizza in Fiji.  Well, that's a lie, we found one on the last day by accident.  After 10 days in pure sunshine and emerald green waters we said our teary goodbyes to the staff and friends we made at Qamea and hopped on a boat to Taveuni where we discovered our plane was delayed.  For 4 hours!  So we convinced Eddie, the Qamea driver to take us to a bar instead of singing Backstreet Boys to himself at the airport. 

hand written boarding passes

A few miles down the road we found ourselves at Taramosa  (The Corner).  Gorgeous views, simple wooden tables, smiley staff and a slew of pizzas????   After a vacation of grilled white fish and shrimp over shredded green papaya and local greens a cheesy pizza was American heaven.  Our friends from Houston, Texas ordered the Deluxe and Dily whipped it up from scratch.

Dily rolling out the dough

i wish every airport bar looked like this

a chef proudly displays her pizza

the finished product (the sun-dried tomatoes were key) 

TDH and I made our own version at home a few days after we flew back to LA.  We are trying to hang on to Fiji any way we can.

                                        RECIPE
Dough

-       Premade Pizza Dough from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or your local pizza place.  Gluten-free dough will work as well.  

Toppings

-       julienne carrots, zucchini, mushrooms (or whatever you have in the fridge)

-       1-2 medium balls of mozzarella, sliced, fresh if possible

-       ½ c goat cheese

-       basil, shredded

-       avocado, thinly sliced

Peanut Sauce adapted from the kitchen of Qamea Resort and Spa, Fiji

- 1 medium onion, finely chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, crushed

- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (use a cheese grater)

- 2 tbs peanut, toasted sesame or olive oil

- ½ c peanut butter (creamy for a smooth sauce, crunchy for a texture sauce)

- ¼ c coconut milk (unsweetened)

- 2 tbs soy sauce

- 1 tbs lemon juice (1/2 a lemon)

- 1 small chili, de-seeded and chopped or 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you are a spicy baby)

- 1 tsp sugar

- salt to taste

Saute the first 3 ingredients in the oil.  Reduce heat, add peanut butter and coconut cream, blending well.  Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes.  Do not allow to boil. 

OR

If you are lazy or live in LA where it's 90*, do as we did, mix all ingredients in a re-sealable container (for the leftovers).  You can also choose this way if you want less of a onion taste in the sauce.  

Assemble the Pizza

1.     Leave dough out for 15 minutes to soften up, grease a cookie sheet and roll out to desired thickness

2.     Preheat oven to 400*

3.     Spread peanut sauce over pizza dough

4.     Spread a layer of mozzarella cheese

5.     Layer vegetables

6.     Dollop with goat cheese

7.     Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown

8.     Top with chopped basil and avocado
9.   Eat!