Takumi, half Italian, half Japanese member of the Rebel group in the Regiment de Cuisine goes up against Etsuya Eizan. The topic is beef. Etsuya tries to trip him up with a roast beef laced with artichoke, which will inhibit the taste bud receptors on the judge’s tongues, but Takumi strikes back with this incredible pizza!
He makes a pizza in a style similar to a Japanese takeaway pizza. There is a concept here that’s really popular, the “Happy” range, where you can order a pizza with anywhere from 2-4 different type of slices. Takumi makes a Happy 2-Range pizza. One half is Shigureni, and the other half is a Quattro Frommagio, and let me tell you- his invention is SO GOOD. And I’ve had a fair few takeaway pizzas here in Japan.
One half is covered in mozzarella, the white parts of spring onion, and shigureni- beef that has been simmered in soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar to develop a deep, sweet flavor. It sits on a sauce of white miso mixed with sugar and mirin, and laced with yuzu zest and yuzu juice, to add a little bitter contrast. The other half is a traditional Quattro Frommagio with mozzarella, ricotta, gorgonzola, and Parmesan.
Let me tell you- the cheese guy at my local cheese counter judged me hardcore for spending $50 on cheeses for a pizza. He said, “You’re going to have a beautiful pizza. Beautiful, but expensive.” And I was like…yep. Sounds like any recipe from Food Wars ever. In any case, this pizza baked up beautifully, and I’d highly recommend it!
Watch the video below for step-by-step instructions!
A pizza with two halves, based on episode five of Food Wars! Fourth Plate
Prep Time 1 hr 30 mins
Cook Time 12 mins
Servings 2 People
Equipment
Oven
Ingredients
Pizza Sauce
2 tbsp White Miso
1 tsp Mirin
1 tsp Sugar
Juice of 1 Yuzu Fruit
1 pinch Yuzu Zest
Shigureni Pizza
Sesame Oil
1/2 lb Beef thinly sliced
Salt
1 inch Ginger sliced needle thin, use to taste
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp Mirin
1/2 tbsp Sake
1 tbsp Sugar
Mozzarella shredded
Spring Onion, sliced on the diagonal white part only
Pizza Dough (homemade or store bought)
Quattro Frommagio Pizza
~1 tbsp Ricotta
~1/3 cup Mozzarella shredded
~1 oz Gorgonzola cubed
~1 oz Parmesan grated finely
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Instructions
Prepare pizza dough. Let come to room temperature, or make in advance. Prepare the pizza dough by rolling out thinly and spreading in a circular pizza pan, dusting pan with polenta prior to placing dough in to help decrease sticking (I didn't do this, and didn't have a problem, but you can do this if you'd like). Form the crust. Set aside.
Assemble pizza sauce by combining all ingredients. Stir and set aside. Taste frequently to make sure you like it.
Heat sesame oil in a pan over medium heat. Add in beef and season with salt. Let brown, then add in ginger needles. Stir through until ginger softens, about 2 minutes, then move to one side of the pan. Add in the soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves, then mix with the beef. Allow to reduce, around 6-8 minutes, until sauce clings to beef and there is no liquid left in the pan. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 250 C. Assemble pizza in the order presented in the video. Sauce on one half, then beef, mozzarella, more beef, and onion. On the cheese side, layer first the ricotta, then mozzarella, then gorgonzola, then sprinkle parmesan on top.
Bake for 12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden. Allow to cool slightly before cutting. Finish top of cheese side with freshly grated pepper (which I totally forgot to do). Enjoy fresh!
I hope you enjoyed this post! If you have any questions or comments, leave them below! I recently got a Twitter, so you can follow me at @yumpenguinsnack if you would like, and DEFINITELY feel free to send me food requests! My Tumblr is yumpenguinsnacks.tumblr.com. Find me on Youtube for more video tutorials! Enjoy the food, and if you decide to recreate this dish, show me pics! 😀