Catherine – Pepperoni Pizza (Vincent)

My Valentine’s present this year was, somewhat ‘controversially’, the ‘Stray Sheep’ edition of Catherine. So to celebrate what’s quickly becoming one of my favourite games, I’ll be posting three recipes dedicated to the games three main characters; Vincent, Catherine and Katherine. Catherine is a marvel as a story-driven puzzle game that actually works; it’s practically an ideal combination for me! Vincent is a protagonist I have quite a soft spot for too - he’s my kind of guy, whether he’s a sheep or not (I think I just find fluffiness attractive). Vincent spends most of his time at The Stray Sheep where he enjoys a few drinks and, more often than not, a pepperoni pizza.

This recipe makes enough for 3 - 4 pizzas.

What you will need: A large mixing bowl, a sieve, a measuring jug, a rolling pin and a pizza tray or stone.

For the Pizza Dough:

500g / 3 ¾ Cups ‘00’ Flour

½ Teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Fast Action Dried Yeast

½ Tablespoon Sugar

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

325ml / 1 ⅓ Cup Warm Water

Pizza Toppings:

250ml / 1 Cup Tomato Passata

Salt & Pepper

Dried Oregano

Hard Mozzarella

Sweetcorn

Pepperoni Slices

Making the Pizza Dough:

1. Sieve the flour and salt together into a large bowl. Meanwhile, take the warm water and add the yeast, sugar and olive oil. Mix it, and allow it to stand for a few minutes.
2. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour the water and yeast mixture into it. Using a fork, scrape the flour in from the outside and mix well until a dough begins to form.
3. Flour a surface and turn the dough out, knead it well for about 5 minutes. Once it’s smooth, place it in a clean bowl, cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for about an hour. After an hour, or once it’s risen it’s ready to be made into pizzas.

Making the Pepperoni Pizza:

1. Preheat the oven to the maximum temperature. Flour a surface and roll out the dough to fit your pizza stone or pan.
2. Spread a few spoons of the passata on top of the rolled out dough and spread it out. Season the passata to taste with salt, pepper and oregano. Next add the mozarella, sweet corn, and finally the pepperoni. Put it in the oven to cook until golden then serve hot.

You can’t ever go wrong with pizza. I think Vincent and his friends know this which is why there’s rarely a scene at the Stray Sheep without it. When I was researching the dish, I had thought about making a Japanese version of the Italian food foundation. There were some interesting combinations; noodle bases and tofu toppings to name a few. But there was one consistent ingredient that is apparently very popular on Japanese pizzas and that’s sweetcorn. I love sweetcorn (though in my travels I came across many people who felt it was too sweet to be anywhere near the top of a pizza), and to be honest with you in the past 2 weeks, between moving house and making this dish, I think I’ve eaten about 7 pizzas, most of which had sweetcorn. Am I a pizza yet? I hope so.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Catherine - Summer Squash Pasta.