Stefano Manfredi’s smoked ham, mushroom and sage pizza, from his book ‘New Pizza’

If you’ve just bought one of our Städler Made Outdoor Ovens, why not try a new take on a classic recipe for a ham & mushroom pizza…

The Italian-Australian chef aims to make pizza healthier and tastier with his new cook book that focuses on traditional pizza dough with fresh toppings.

Pizza is probably the world’s most popular fast food and wherever it has gone, it has taken on the characteristics of its new home. While Italy, and more precisely Naples, is where it all began, there’s no doubt that pizza now belongs to the world. But something exciting is happening in pizza’s spiritual home. What he calls the “new wave” of pizza has been gaining momentum in Italy in the last decade and that inspiring movement is the focus of his book.

Smoked leg ham, mushroom and sage pizza
This is a lovely combination of flavours, especially between the smoked leg ham and the sage. Don’t buy pre-packaged ham, but rather have it sliced off the bone and ask for it a little thicker for texture.

Makes one 30 cm (12 inch) pizza

250g ball of basic pizza dough
50 ml extra virgin olive oil, for frying, plus 1 tablespoon for drizzling
12 large fresh sage leaves
80g tinned San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
100g fior di latte mozzarella
90g smoked leg ham, shaved
90g (1 cup) thinly sliced button or small cap mushrooms
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place a large terracotta tile in your oven for the pizza, then preheat to full heat (without using any fan-forced function) for at least 20 minutes. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a small saucepan and fry the sage leaves until crisp. Remove from the oil and drain on some paper towel.

Hand squeeze the tomatoes; it doesn’t matter if there are pieces left and they’re not completely uniform. Spread the squeezed tomato onto the shaped pizza base, leaving the edges clear to about 3–4 cm. Thinly slice the mozzarella and scatter evenly, here and there, on the tomato. Scatter the ham and mushrooms evenly over the pizza. Season with a little salt and a couple of turns of the pepper mill and cook in the oven for 3–5 minutes until cooked, turning to get an even colour. Once out of the oven, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and scatter the fried sage on top.

This is an edited extract from Stefano Manfredi’s New Pizza (Murdoch Books, $39.99).