Wholemeal Prawn and Basil Pizza

This is one of my favourite recipes that includes lots of fresh and healthy ingredients, and is really easy to make. If you have the time, you can make your own wholemeal pizza base, but most of us are just too busy and buying a premade one is often a lot easier. I have tried a few different wholemeal pizza bases and while good, they can be quite dense. I’ve taken to using wholemeal Lebanese pita bread as a base instead. It’s usually used as a wrap, so it’s really thin and light. I love this about it because when it cooks, it becomes really crispy. If you are watching your carb intake, this is a better option than using actual pizza bases. I’ve included the ingredients I usually use, but the great thing about a pizza is variety! Include whatever you like, if you don’t like seafood, add chicken breast. If you’re a vegetarian, eliminate the meat completely and add tofu for protein. It keeps until the following day, so make enough for another meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Fresh basil

• Uncooked fresh prawns – peeled

• Cherry tomatoes

• Lime juice

• Fresh chillies

• Low fat cheddar cheese

• Tomato paste

• Spanish red onion

• Mushrooms

• Green capsicum

Peel and clean the raw fresh prawns. Marinate them in the juice of one lime and some chopped fresh chillies (deseed if you don’t like too much spice). I sometimes add a little brown sugar or mirim (Japanese sugar syrup) to reduce the tartness of the lime juice (this is optional!). Leave the prawns to marinate for at least 30 mins. A good trick to enhance flavour is to make sure when you clean them, you cut down the back of the prawn. This opens them up and allows them to absorb more flavours.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Peel Spread a thin layer of tomato paste over the wholemeal pita bread. Chop the Spanish onion into thin slices and spread on the pita bread. Add the prawns, chopped mushrooms and chopped capsicum. Chop the washed basil leaves and sprinkle over the prawns. Don’t be shy! The fresh basil is beautiful and the more the better. It brings out a lovely flavour. Finally, top with some grated low fat cheddar cheese (this too is optional, so add as much or as little as you like).

Place the pita bread on a wire rack (if you place it on a tray, it will take longer to cook and the base doesn’t become crispy) and pop it into the oven. It should only take 13-15 mins before the prawns are cooked and the base is crispy.