Shortcut to Supper

It's Monday and for a lot of people the working week starts, although I guess for most the work has never really stopped over the weekend either. And with so many tasks to juggle, on some days food just has to be quick, doesn't it?  Cooking everything from scratch is a wonderful thing and I try and do it most of the time, however, sometimes a shortcut is needed to feed us pronto.  One of these shortcuts is using ready-made ciabatta bread, found in the bread aisle of your supermarket.  It's the basis for this quick meal: ciabatta pizza, an easy lunch or dinner when we are hungry but don't have much time.  And it's great for guests with kids too as it is so versatile - everyone can have the topping they like and it's put together in minutes.  The result: lots of happy faces around the table.

I forgot to take a picture when we had this a couple of days ago but as it is a frequent favourite, I will upload one soon.  In the meantime, just imagine bread - crunchy on the outside but soft in the middle - topped with everything you love on a pizza and covered in bubbling cheese...mhm...;-)  Can you picture it?


Ciabatta Pizza (serves 2 - 3 people)

Ingredients:
1 ready-made ciabatta bread (the home-bake variety, approx. 270g)
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 ball of mozzarella cheese or enough cheese slices / grated cheese to cover the pizza
a choice of salami, ham, slices of peppers or whatever topping you fancy
Italian herbs (e.g. basil & oregano)
salt & pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180c (fan oven).
2. Cut the ciabatta horizontally and open up, so you have something resembling a couple of pizza bases.
3. Spread the tomato puree evenly on the bread and season with the herbs and salt & pepper.
4. Now add your topping - it's your pizza, so anything goes...salami,ham, slices of peppers, mushrooms...
5. Top with cheese and finish off with another sprinkling of herbs.
6. Pop on an oven grid and bake in the oven for approx. 12 -14 minutes or until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown & bubble.
7. Serve hot either on its own or with a side salad.