“Thanasakia”: pizza dough with meat and sweet peppers

Ever since I made up a dish and named it after my daughter, “Melinakia”, my son kept asking for his own. I tried to stay within the same spirit, some kind of dough topped with a favorite ingredient and cooked in the oven. My son likes meat a lot so I knew the top would have to be meat. Minced meat makes good topping, I thought, maybe a little tomato, too. I searched for recipes with these ingredients. Then, I had to find some dough recipe. I didn’t want to use puff pastry again, like I did for “Melinakia”. The dish would be too similar and the meat would go well with a more substantial base, I thought. Click here, click there, and voila! “Thanasakia” came to life. Don’t be disheartened by the photo. This was my very first try and I was very indecisive. The boat shape was a last minute idea — I mean after the dough and toppings were in place — so I didn’t always have enough dough to make the right shape. Also, I spooned the remaining tomato sauce on top which was not such a great idea aesthetically and the peppers would be better off cubed. But, hey, there will be another time to perfect the edges. The family loved it! We ate it all, including the pizza-like experimental version you see at the bottom, in one evening. Maybe, it tasted too good, if you ask me. Or maybe we were way too hungry. Either way we ate more than we should. Now for the credits, to put this recipe together I used Mamalakis’ “pita me kima” recipe and for the dough I followed a recipe from “Syntages tis pareas“.

Recipe

Ingredients for the meat topping

1 pound minced meat
1 onion chopped
2 tomatoes processed in the blender (maybe 1 would have been enough)
1 cup sliced sweet peppers (I had them in a jar from Trader Joe’s)
dill and parsley chopped
salt, pepper

Ingredients for the dough

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon dried yeast (that’s what I had)
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup or less ouzo (or brandy)

How to make: To make the dough, combine the flour with the dry yeast, add the warm water, knead a little, add the ouzo or brandy, knead until the dough doesn’t stick at the sides of the bowl. Flour a flat surface and “open” the dough flat. Now, if you want to make the pizza-like variety put the dough in a greased pan. If you want to make the boats cut the dough in rectangular or square shapes and place them on a greased pan. To make the meat topping, mix the minced meat with the onion, the processed tomato, the dill and the parsley. I put the peppers on top but I advise you to cut them in cubes and blend them with the meat. Add salt, pepper. Spread the meat mix on the dough. If you are making the boats, pinch the edges to give the boat shape. Cook in a 375 F 190 C for about 40 minutes or until the dough is brown and the meat cooked. Easy, right? The dough is simple but tasty and, despite the yeast in it, you don’t have to wait for it to increase its volume. Enjoy!

My son was really, really happy with his dish.