How to make your own Pizza Express Leggera Padana: Chain releases the recipe for making their famous low calorie dish in 11 simple steps

Pizza Express has delighted fans by revealing the recipe to their Leggera Padana
It comes from the restaurant's Leggera range, which is all under 600 calories
Range is served on a ring shaped base with a the middle filled with fresh salad

Pizza Express has delighted fans by revealing the recipe to their Leggera Padana pizza.

The Italian high street favourite closed its doors in March amid the coronavirus lockdown.

Each week, they've been sharing a new recipe for fans to make at home to get their pizza fix at home, with this week sharing their Pandana pizza.

It comes from the restaurant's Leggera range, which are all under 600 calories.

It's similar to their classic pizza, topped with goat’s cheese, caramelised onion, spinach, red onion, tomato and garlic oil.

All of the pizzas in the range are served on a classic-sized ring of wholemeal, white and spelt dough, with a hole in the middle filled with a fresh, dressed salad.

Here, FEMAIL reveals how to make the dish at home.

HOW TO MAKE PIZZA EXPRESS DOUGH BALLS

FOR THE DOUGH BALLS (makes 2 portions)

Ingredients

150ml warm water – roughly 27 degrees
1 teaspoon of sugar
15g fresh yeast (or 2 level teaspoons of dry yeast)
225g of plain flour (plus extra for working)
1.5 teaspoons of salt
Extra virgin olive oil

Pizza Express have shared how to make their famous dough balls at home as their restaurants closed their doors amid the coronavirus pandemic

Method

1. First up, preheat the oven to 230C / 210C fan assisted

2. Add the sugar and crumble the fresh yeast into the warm water. Allow the mixture to stand for 10 – 15 minutes in a warm place until froth develops on the surface

3. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour the yeast mixture in

4. Lightly flour your hands and slowly mix the ingredients together until they bind

5. Generously dust your surface with flour, throw down the dough and begin kneading for 10 minutes until smooth, silky and soft. Leave dough to rest until soft to the touch but not too springy

6. Roll dough into a 1.2m long tube. Chop into 16 chunks and place in an oven proof pan. Leave the Dough Balls to rest in the pan for 30 mins

7. Make sure the oven has reached temperature and bake for 6 minutes until golden

How to make Pizza Express' Leggera Padana Pizza

Prep time: 60 mins

Cooking time: 10-12 mins

Makes: 1 Leggera pizza

NOTE: Our Dough Ball recipe makes enough dough for 2 Leggera pizzas. The ingredients below are for 1 pizza so if you’re making two, you’ll need to double-up on the topping ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

Pizza dough (see Dough Ball recipe)
60gms PizzaExpress passata (or any passata)
40gms red onion chutney
A handful of blanched spinach
28gms red onion (sliced)
Pinch of Oregano

Pinch of black pepper
5ml garlic oil (or olive oil)
A handful of salad mix 2 cherry tomatoes (halved)
5ml PizzaExpress house light dressing (or any dressing you have!)
25gms goat’s cheese (crumbled into 8 pieces

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 230°C
Split the dough in 2 portions (if making two pizzas remember to double-up on the topping ingredients!)
Roll out the dough to the thinness you’d like and place it on an lightly oiled baking tray
Place a round plastic cup/container (about 8cm side) in the middle of dough and cut around it using a knife
Remove the excess dough from the middle (u can use this to make a mini garlic bread!)
Spread your Pizzaexpress passata around your Leggera base
Add onion chutney, spinach and sliced onions to your base
Top with goats cheese, oregano, black pepper and garlic oil
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown
Add the lettuce and tomato to the centre of your Leggera
Top the salad with PizzaExpress light house dressing