Roast Duck Pizza with Hoisin Sauce and Pineapple

Fusion cooking is something which is widely ridiculed by a number of top chefs and food industry professionals in modern times. At best, it is considered by its critics to be nothing but an outdated relic of the 1970's. While there can be no doubt that some of the creations born of fusion cooking sound ridiculous and taste unusual at best, that does not mean to say that the practice can not on occasion pay handsome dividends. I believe that this particular fusion of Italian and Chinese cuisine is one instance where the concept works extremely well.

Ingredients per 12" Pizza

6oz plain/all purpose flour
1 tsp active dried yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 fl oz lukewarm water

4oz leftover roast duck
2 tbsp thick consistency, hoisin sauce
1 ring of pineapple (canned in own juice)
2oz pizza mozzarella cheese
2oz cheddar cheese
2 to three basil leaves for garnish (optional)



Method

The dough for the pizza base will require to be made first of all, as it requires resting for approximately an hour. Put the flour, yeast and salt in to a large mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon. Form a well in the centre and pour in the water and olive oil. Stir until a dough starts to form then set the spoon aside and use your hands to finish combining the ingredients.

Rather than try to describe the pizza dough kneading process in words, I have instead included a short video below which demonstrates the process. This may not be an authentic Italian method of preparing pizza dough - with no throwing it around your head involved - but it is more than effective. It is highly recommended that you watch this clip if you are unfamiliar with the process. To play the video, simply click on the arrow in the centre of the screen.



Put your oven on to preheat to 450F/230C.

If you are using a pizza pan, rather than a pizza stone, very lightly grease it with olive oil. When you have rolled the dough to the approximate size of your pan, place it inside and use your fingers to gently stretch it to the dimensions of the pan, careful not to tear it.

You could at this stage simply spread the hoisin sauce over the pizza dough and place the duck on top. I prefer, however, to firstly stir the duck pieces in to the hoisin sauce and then carefully spread the mixture on the dough, leaving a crust border of about 1/2" all the way around. I think this helps to protect the duck and keep it moist during cooking, as it has after all already been cooked.

Cut the pineapple ring in to fairly small pieces and scatter it over the duck and sauce mixture.

The mozzarella should be sliced and chopped in to half inch strips. The cheddar should be grated. Mix them together and scatter them over the pizza last of all.

Place the pizza in to the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until the cheese has begun to bubble and the crust has started to brown.

Remove the pizza from the oven and leave it to rest for a couple of minutes. Lift it carefully from the pan with a spatula and place it on a cutting board. Tear and scatter the basil leaves on top, if desired. Use a pizza cutter to cut the pizza in to the desired number of slices and serve. (Important: Never cut the pizza while it is still in the pan, as this is likely to damage the pan.)



I hope that you will give this pizza recipe a try. As some people can find hoisin sauce to be a little bit on the sweet and cloying side, you may wish to consider adding mushrooms, or even slices of green bell pepper, to give your pizza some extra savoury bite. Alternatively, if you fancy making a more traditional style pizza, with tomato sauce, or even wholewheat dough, you may find the site linked to below to be of interest.

Pizza Recipes: How to Make Pizza Dough and Homemade Pizza Sauce