No exaggeration here- this is the ultimate skillet pizza.

I’ve been trying to brush up on my pizza-making skills but those attempts have been anything but successful. Having a killer topping combination means absolutely nothing when the base is soggy and falling apart under it. This is where the skillet pizza comes in- watch all your soggy crust fears disappear with this simple cooking technique.

The crust is cooked on the stovetop for a couple of minutes to form the perfect vessel for the tomato-cheese topping. I started with a simple margarita this week but trust me when I say we are going to build on this- bigger and better and more complex flavour combinations. Let this serve as a guide to show you that effortless flawless homemade pizza is not a myth and truly does exist.

Ultimate Skillet Margarita Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp flour + 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1 pound pizza dough, homemade with this recipe or storebought
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ each salt and black pepper
• 1 and ½ cups of the best pasta sauce or any storebought marinara
• 150g mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp honey + 2 tsp water
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• some fresh basil leaves, torn roughly (optional)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to the highest temperature it will go to. Mine goes to 250°C/480°F. At the same time, set your skillet on the stove at medium-high heat to allow it to start heating up. You want your skillet to be hot, but not smoking. I used a 9 inch skillet but if you want a thicker crust/deep pan pizza, go with an 8 inch skillet.
2. Once the skillet is hot, dust the bottom with the flour and cornflour. Stretch or roll the pizza dough into a circle that is roughly the same size as the skillet. Carefully lay the pizza dough in the skillet, being careful not to burn your fingers!
3. Cook the pizza dough until it starts to form large bubbles, about 3-4 minutes. Switch off the stove before drizzling olive oil over the surface of the dough and seasoning with salt and pepper. Spread the marinara sauce evenly over the surface of the dough. It’s okay if you don’t have as much of a crust as you would like, the tomatoes will caramelise where the sauce is thin and you will end up with something so much better. Layer the cheese evenly over the tomato base before transferring to the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is deep golden brown, and bubbling.
4. In a small bowl, combine the honey, water and chilli flakes. Once the pizza has finished baking, switch off the oven. Drizzle the chilli honey over the surface of the pizza and allow to rest in the hot oven for 5 minutes. Top with basil leaves before removing to a cutting board to slice and serve. Enjoy!