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School lunch

Family Night Pizza

A real winner for lunch or dinner, this sumptuous white sauce pizza is sure to have the whole family at the table faster than you can say, buon appetito!

Equipment

  • measuring cups and spoons
  • cutting board and knife
  • large baking sheet
  • parchment paper
  • fork
  • medium saucepan
  • whisk

Ingredients

  • 2 sheets (about 450 g) frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) dried basil
  • 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
  • 1 cup (250 mL) milk
  • 2 plum tomatoes
  • 2 mushrooms
  • 2 thin slices deli ham
  • 2 cups (500 mL) shredded mozzarella
  • fresh basil for garnish (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
  2. Unroll puff pastry and place side by side (overlapping slightly to form one large crust) to fit on a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Press the overlapped dough together so it sticks. Prick all over with a fork. Press edges with a fork. Refrigerate pastry until ready to use.
  3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Sprinkle with flour, basil and salt; whisk about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Whisk for 2 minutes until smooth and thickened; set aside.
  4. Thinly slice tomatoes and mushrooms. Cut ham into pieces. Drizzle cooled milk sauce over the pastry, leaving about a ½ inch (1 cm) around edges. Spread to barely cover crust. Arrange tomatoes, mushrooms and ham over sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.  
  5. Bake about 15 minutes or until a deep golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with basil, if using.

Tips:

  • If you can only find frozen blocks of puff pastry, thaw and roll the two together to form a rectangle to fit the baking sheet.
  • For additional flavour, scatter pizza with fresh thyme leaves. Substitute your favourite pizza toppings for the ones above.