Low fat pizza for one

April 22, 2002

Last year when I visited London I had the misfortune to come down with the winter bug. Rather than mope away in a pokey hotel room, I soldiered on with the sightseeing but by about 4.30 each afternoon the body was pleading "Enough" so I'd leave The Spouse and younger son and work my way back to our lodgings via the Tube.

Sometimes I seemed to be spending more time on foot than in the train as I negotiated the long walkways and escalators getting from platform to platform or back to street level.

I still smile when I remember how on a previous visit we spent about 25 minutes getting from point A to B. When we resurfaced at street level, we discovered that we'd taken a very long-winded route just to cross the river - probably a five minute walk.

Anyway, I'd climb the stairs to our room and collapse on the bed and digest a little TV. The lads would come back about 7pm, absolutely ravenous and waxing eloquent about the wonderful smells coming from the local curry house. I would have to do my best to rally some enthusiasm for dinner. While the thought of a curry was almost enough to make my toes curl, in reality a good slug of capsaicin releases endorphins - the body's natural pain-killers - and induces perspiration and can be more effective than the regulation aspirins. It's just a matter of persuading the stomach.

There was also a very good Italian restaurant nearby and I did manage to work up some enthusiasm for a small portion of pizza. They also did an excellent fruit salad when my appetite really was at its lowest ebb.

Pizza is one of those foods that has been embraced with enthusiasm all over the world. When pizzas first hit New Zealand in the 1960s some very unusual creations masqueraded under the name. Some were made with a scone (biscuit) base, leavened with baking powder rather than yeast and smothered with canned spaghetti (probably to make them look "Italian"). But over the years there have been some seriously good pizzas baked in the wood-fired ovens of the country.

Unfortunately commercially made pizzas can be a bit of a no-no when it's time to cut the calories. We've all seen the grease on the bottom of the pizza box. But I experimented the other day and discovered it was possible to make a perfectly good pizza without overdoing the calories.

Pitta bread makes a good pizza base. It's light and thin and low in fat. I used to buy wonderful pitta bread from a Lebanese restaurant which made its own in a special oven. It's great to have in the freezer for making pitta chips for dips, for pizza bases and for Middle Eastern dishes.

I buy tomato concentrate in small foil pouches - enough for one pizza. The brand I use has variations with added flavour such as basil, roasted pepper, garlic and onions and so on.

Low-Fat Pizza for One

1 pitta bread
2 or 3 tablespoons flavoured tomato concentrate
1 zucchini
2 medium tomatoes
a few slices of red and yellow capsicum
2 or 3 artichoke hearts
1 teaspoon capers
3 tablespoons low fat cottage cheese with chives
2 tablespoons grated low fat cheesea
few basil leaves
dried oregano

Spread the tomato paste on the pitta bread. Slice the zucchini and chop the artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Arrange the vegetables on the base, spoon over the cottage cheese, sprinkle with the herbs then sprinkle on the grate cheese.

Bake at 200C for 10-12 minutes.