To celebrate our recently launched Outdoor Cooking range, the Lazy Susan team held a lunchtime pizza party.
This gave us all the perfect opportunity to try and test our new Cozze Pizza Oven, and to all experiment with cooking a variety of different pizza bases and toppings.
We had a great time as you can see from the photos. The sun was shining and we all got to take a well-earned break from the office and enjoy some delicious homemade pizza.
The joy of pizza
It doesn’t matter if you prefer a thin and crispy Roman-style, soft and doughy Neapolitan, or a deep dish American pie, the Cozze Pizza Oven has you covered.
What started as humble street food in Naples surely has to be regarded as one of the worlds biggest and best exports?
And it is rare that you meet someone who doesn’t like it. Even if they don’t like or eat certain toppings such as tomato or cheese, there’s always an alternative.
Pizza as we know it today was said to have been created by Napolese baker, Raffaele Esposito who created the “Margherita” for the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy in 1889.
However, topped flatbreads have been served for many many years before that, with the Oxford Companion to Food stating that:
The linguistic link between pizza and pitta is surely no coincidence – topped breads have been popular around the Mediterranean since classical times, and Etruscans were baking schiacciata in the Tuscan region over 2,000 years ago.
However, we won’t get into pizza politics in this article, that’s maybe one for another day.
Here we just want to focus on what we cooked at the Lazy Susan pizza party in our new Cozze Pizza Oven.
We love pizza... That soft, chewy, slightly charred around the edge base with a host of our favourite fresh toppings, you just can't beat it.
It is the perfect party food too, and allowing your guests create-their-own, that's what makes a pizza party such a winner.
Make your next garden party a pizza party and we guarantee your family and friends will have a great time!
Our favourite pizza recipes from the Lazy Susan pizza party
To help get you inspired, the Lazy Susan team have chosen our favourite rustic pizza recipes and toppings, all cooked in the Cozze Pizza Oven and served on the Lazy Susan HQ patio.
1. Michael’s Caramelised Onion, Mushroom & Spinach Pizza
Kicking things off is Lazy Susan head honcho, Michael with his Caramelised Onion, Mushroom & Spinach Pizza.
He wanted a vegetarian option but took it to the next level with some deliciously sweet caramelised onions and a variety of different mushrooms.
His inspiration for the topping came from the Broma Bakery recipe but he substituted the shop-bought base (sacrilege if you ask us) for a classic Neopolitan style pizza dough.
The video below from world champion pizza maker, Johnny Di Francesco shares his secrets and shows you how to get the perfect Neapolitan pizza base.
True to Italian tradition, the Neapolitan pizza dough is made up of very simple ingredients; Water, salt, yeast and the all-important flour...
We opted for Caputo’s oo Wheat Flour but most supermarkets will stock a range of good options.
The key to a good Neapolitan is the crunch and our Cozze Pizza Oven with its cordierite baking stone delivered perfect results in only 2 minutes of cooking.
You get what the Italians call “corniccione”, which is basically that yummy rim or crust that is airy, raised, crunchy, slightly charred on the outside and light but soft on the inside!
2. Darren's Classic Salami Pizza
Darren went for a classic salami pizza but he wanted to try a few different toppings so opted for a few mini-pizza bases (shown below) using the same dough as Michael’s recipe above.
The mini base is perfect for the kids or those who can’t decide what pizza they want. However, the proof is in the pudding, and the salami was his winner.
The delicious Fennel Salami (pictured above) from the Suffolk Salami Co was what sealed the deal.
A spicy dry salami inspired by class Calabrian salami, it combines the finest cuts of pork, with salt, spices, garlic, and fennel seeds.
Another great tip Darren brought to the table was to sprinkle a little polenta or semolina flour onto the pizza base dough before you top and cook. It stops the base from sticking to the pizza stone but also helps give the base a little more chew and a great texture.
3. Gary’s Prosciutto & Rocket Pizza
This is Gary’s go-to pizza topping. Any restaurant that serves it, that’s what he orders. So he was keen to see if the Cozze Pizza Oven could deliver that level of quality and taste.
For the base, he wanted something a little fluffier. Still thin but a little softer in texture than Michael’s Neapolitan base.
An equal mix of oo Italian flour and plain white flour was the route to go down, and he ‘borrowed’ from pizza guru, Giorgio Locatelli’s recipe/method in the video below:
For the topping, he went for a good quality supermarket Prosciutto and a fresh wild rocket from the local farmers market.
For the pizza sauce, Michael, Alex and Gary all kept it simple with a homemade recipe from BBC Good Food. This was prepared the night before and stored in the fridge until needed.
Their rich tomato pizza sauce is achieved by cooking it over low heat until thick and glossy. It's easy to make and is perfect for a pizza party. You’ll find the ingredients and their method on the BBC Good Food Website.
4. Mimi’s Garden Party Pizza
Mimi, like Michael, opted for a vegetarian topping but went full garden party with a plethora of delicious veggies.
Most of the team opted for the classic Mozzarella when it came to the cheese, some added a little grated Pecorino-Romano too.
However, Mimi threw a bit of a curveball and opted for Gorgonzola on her garden party to add an extra layer of flavour and texture.
In terms of the veggie toppings, she was inspired by the fab Cookie + Kate recipe and opted for a combo of cherry tomatoes, courgette, artichoke, bell peppers, olives, red onion and baby spinach.
As this was quite a ‘loaded’ pizza, it needed a little longer in the Cozze Pizza Oven than the recommended 2 minutes. Not much, maybe 30 seconds to a minute or so more but it was needed to give the veggies a bit more bite, texture and char.
5. Juliane’s Calabrese Style Pizza with Nduja
Juliane opted to try and recreate a classic Calabrese style pizza with some wonderful Nduja sausage procured from Melbury & Appleton.
She crumbled the spicy sausage over a classic Calabrese style pizza base with tomato sauce and mozzarella. You don’t need much, the strong flavour of Nduja means a little goes a long way!
For the base she used the following ingredients to get a nice soft chew from her dough:
- 1 x Cup of warm water
- 1 x Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 3 x Cups of all-purpose Caputo Tipo oo Pizza Flour
- 1 x Tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 x Teaspoon of salt
- 1 x Teaspoon of sugar
The pizza was finished with some sweet Roquito peppers, finely sliced fresh green chillies, sliced yellow and red peppers, a little bit of grated Grana Padano cheese and topped with some fresh watercress when it came out of the oven.
6. Ron’s BBQ Chicken Pizza
Ron isn’t too keen on the classic tomato pizza sauce, so he likes to substitute the classic sauce with a BBQ style similar to the well-known delivery chain.
And that’s the great thing about pizza, you can tweak it to suit personal taste.
It is also what makes it a great choice for a party, the making and cooking also form the entertainment, it’s such a social food.
For Ron’s pizza, he adapted BBC Good Foods BBQ Chicken Pizza recipe by swapping out the tomato sauce and substituting the tomato sauce with a homemade BBQ sauce.
Now, OK the BBQ sauce recipe from Thursday Night Pizza includes tomatoes but trust us, if you don’t like them, you don’t really taste them, and this sauce has a whole other world of sweet/spicy flavour going on.
The BBC’s homemade BBQ chicken gave the pizza a wonderful moreish smoky flavour, and this was a pizza that surprised those on the team that were a little unsure about the choice of sauce.
7. Somaia’s Vegan Margherita Pizza
Somaia wanted to keep things simple but with a little twist...
She wanted to remove the dairy and see how the Cozze Pizza Oven would cook her favourite Vegan Margherita Pizza.
The recipe she opted for was from the excellent Plantifully Based Blog:
Francesca has some great tips in terms of the pizza base and her vegan mozzarella, made from cauliflower (yes you read that correct), is gooey, stretchy, salty and creamy.
It is basically everything you want from mozzarella, and it left the few sceptics at Lazy Susan speechless!
This was a recipe she’d done in her oven at home during the lockdown with just a pizza stone too, so she was keen to see if there was a noticeable difference.
The final verdict from Somaia was that no way will she cook pizza in the kitchen again… Outdoor in a proper pizza oven is the way to go!
The Lazy Susan Outdoor Cooking Range
It doesn’t matter if you’re a professional cook or just enthusiastic foodies like us, the new Lazy Susan Outdoor Cooking range has an option for you.
Our stunning new range of Pizza Ovens, Grills and BBQ’s will inspire and take your cooking to the next level.
It will significantly up the flavour, help you create food that is healthy, deliver some serious enjoyment, and allow your patio to take centre stage when it comes to entertaining family and friends.
Explore our collection today, and don’t hesitate to contact our friendly Customer Service Team should you need any further advice.
Cozze 13” Portable Outdoor Pizza Oven
Our new Portable Outdoor Pizza Oven is the perfect solution for those with limited space, on the move camping trips or who just have a love for a perfect charred crust. And as you can see from the photos, it sits perfectly on top of your Lazy Garden Tables!
The oven runs on standard low-pressure propane gas cartridges and bottles and comes supplied with a cordierite baking stone.
It features a wide access opening and is easy to operate with ample room for large pizzas up to 13 inches.
The oven will hit perfect temperature after about 20 minutes from lighting, so you can quickly bake delicious pizzas for large parties, friends and family.
It is both easy and safe to use, with a heat control located within easy reach to the side of the opening.
With the Cozze you are always in full control of your pizza bakes and the pizza stone ensures that you get a wonderfully crisp base in only 2 minutes.
See the Cozze in action in the video below:
If you want to read a little more about the launch of our full range of outdoor ovens, grills and BBQ's, then our recently published 'new outdoor cooking range from Lazy Susan' article should be your next stop.
If you want to purchase, you can view the full Lazy Susan Outdoor Cooking Range in our shop, or if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to Contact Us.
