Pizza Express releases recipe for dough balls and Leggara Padana pizza to make at home

Italian chain sharing recipes for new dishes each week

Pizza Express has delighted fans by sharing the recipe for its iconic dough balls and Leggara Padana pizza.

In March, the Italian high street favourite closed all of its restaurants across the UK and Ireland as a precautionary measure against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, leaving customers unable to get their fix of the brand’s popular dishes.

To help satisfy the cravings of the British public, each week Pizza Express has been sharing recipes for fans to make at home, including their iconic dough balls, which were first created by chefs as a snack in the late 1960’s from off cuts of dough.

This week, the chain has released the recipe for its Padana pizza, which comes from its Leggara range of lighter dishes that contain just 600 calories.

The pizza, which is made using wholemeal, white and spelt dough, is topped with goat’s cheese, caramelised onion, spinach, red onion, tomato and garlic oil with a hole in the middle that is filled with a fresh, dressed salad.

Here’s how to make the Leggara Padana pizza.

Prep time: 60 mins Cooking time: 10-12 mins Makes: 1 Leggera pizza

Ingredients:

Dough Balls:

• 150ml warm water - roughly 27 degrees
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 15g fresh yeast or 2 level tsp of dry yeast 225g of plain flour (plus extra for working) 1.5 tsp of salt 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 4 tsp of butter
• 1/2 tsp of chopped garlic 

Leggara Padana Pizza:

• Pizza dough (see above)
• 60gms PizzaExpress passata (or any passata) 40gms red onion chutney
• A handful of blanched spinach
• 28gms red onion (sliced)
• 25gms goat’s cheese (crumbled into 8 pieces) Pinch of oregano
• Pinch of black pepper
• 5ml garlic oil (or olive oil)
• A handful of salad mix
• 2 cherry tomatoes (halved)
• 5ml PizzaExpress house light dressing (or any dressing you have!) 

Method:

Dough Balls:

• Add the sugar and crumble the fresh yeast into warm water. 
• Allow the mixture to stand for 10-15 minutes in a warm place (we find a windowsill on a sunny day works best) until froth develops on the surface. 
• Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil. 
• Lightly flour your hands, and slowly mix the ingredients together until they bind. 
• Generously dust your surface with flour. 
• Throw down the dough and begin kneading for 10 minutes until smooth, silky and soft. 
• Leave dough to rest until soft to the touch but not too springy - about 15 mins. 
• Preheat oven to 230°C.
• Then, it’s ready to roll. Roll dough into one long 1.2m tube. Chop into 16 chunks and place in an oven proof pan.
• Leave Dough Balls to rest in pan for 30 mins then bake in the oven for 6 minutes until golden.
• Now for the garlic butter. Mix 4 heaped teaspoons of butter with 1/2 teaspoon of chopped garlic.

Leggara Padana Pizza:

• Preheat your oven to 230°C 
• Split the dough in 2 portions (if making two pizzas remember to double-up on the topping ingredients!) 
• Roll out the dough to the thinness you’d like and place it on an lightly oiled baking tray 
• Place a round plastic cup/container (about 8cm side) in the middle of dough and cut around it using a knife 
• Remove the excess dough from the middle (u can use this to make a mini garlic bread!) 
• Spread your Pizzaexpress passata around your Leggera base 
• Add onion chutney, spinach and sliced onions to your base 
• Top with goats cheese, oregano, black pepper and garlic oil 
• Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown 
• Add the lettuce and tomato to the centre of your Leggera 
• Top the salad with PizzaExpress light house dressing 

Pizza Express is calling for anyone who recreates one of its famous dishes to share a photo of their finished dish on social media.

The pizza restaurant is not the only brand to have shared the secret recipe for one of its most-loved dishes.

Earlier this month, Ikea revealed the recipe for its Swedish Meatballs. You can find out how to make them here.