Ingredient 37 - Beer

Beer is one of the most widely consumed beverages across the world with the average human being drinking 13,248 beers in their lifetime.

Beer in culinary dishes dates back centuries to mid-1500s to Europe, in particular Germany and England. Today it is most famously recognized for beer battered fish and chips, or even the odd creation the Beer-can Chicken.

Beer has been described as adding a whole new dimension of flavor to a recipe, with it flavoring food by either the bitterness from the hops, sweetness from the malt and yeasty bite from its creation via fermentation process.

Here it adds a lovely twist to a prawn pizza. Any male should be salivating right now!

Beer marinated Prawn Pizza

Pizza base

Makes 1 thick base or 2 thin

1 satchet dried yeast

1 tsp caster sugar

¾ cup lukewarm water

1 ½ cup plain white flour

pinch salt

• Place the lukewarm water in a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast and sugar on top. Let it stand for 20 minutes or until top is looking ‘frothy’.
• Prepare the bench top for kneading by wiping it down, sprinkling it with plain flour and having 1 cup of flour on standby.
• Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour the yeast mixture in. Firstly use a fork to combine the ingredients, then use your hands so it comes together well.
• Turn onto the floured bench and use as much flour as necessary to bring into a firm ball.
• Begin the kneading process – this should take around 20 minutes in total. Take the ball of dough, place your heel in the centre and then push your heel away from you. Turn the dough 45 degrees and then repeat the ‘pushing the heel away’ process. Once a complete circle has been done, fold the dough over and repeat the process again. You may find that more flour needs to be added as you knead if you find the dough too sticky.
• Once satisfied with the kneading, form the dough into a ball, place it in a clean bowl and cover with glad wrap. Let it rest for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
• Take the dough out of the bowl and knead for a further 5 minutes, adding more flour if necessary. Divide dough into 2 portions and place one aside.
• Roll the ball out forming a warped ‘authentic’ pizza base.

Topping - for 1 pizza

16 medium green prawns

¼ cup light beer – my pick Coopers Clear

2 red capsicums

1 long red chilli

2 tbsp tomato paste

grated cheese – approx. 1 cup

¾ cup raw cashews

• Finely chop the chilli, trim the heads and tails off the prawns and devein them gently. Place beer, chilli and prawns in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Marinate in the fridge for 45min.
• Preheat fan forced grill. Slice the capsicums in half and remove the stem and seeds. Place on a baking tray and grill until the skin is charred and blistered.
• Place capsicums in a plastic bag, seal, and leave to cool for 15 minutes. Peel the skins off the capsicum and discard; the skins should literally fall off gently by this stage.
• Chop the capsicum finely into small pieces as possible and place in a bowl. Roughly chop ½ cup cashew nuts and mix in well with the capsicum. Alternately use a blender and pulse the mixture until a rough paste forms.
• Preheat fan-forced oven to 200°.
• Heat the garlic and olive oil in a frypan over medium heat, then cook the prawns for approx. 1min or until coloured and tails are curled. The prawns just need to be seared, as they will cook completely in the oven.
• Prepare the pizza by spreading the tomato paste over the base. Sprinkle with as much grated cheese as desired. Spread the capsicum mixture across the cheese, arrange the prawns on top and sprinkle with remaining cashew nuts.
• Cook the pizza in oven for 15min or until deliciously browned and bases crispy.