Chewy pizza crust hamantaschen enclose a rich filling of tomato sauce, olives and gooey, stretchy, melty mozzarella.
I always think there’s something about the nature of Purim that invites you to play with your food. After all, why should the ‘dressing up’ be confined to the children?! Go wild in the kitchen and let your imagination create fun new foods to celebrate this wild and wonderful holiday!
Purim recipe mash-ups
In the past, such Purim-inspired kitchen innovations have led to crunchy fortune cookie hamantaschen, filling and hearty Cornish pasty hamantaschen, and the wonderfully fruity Hot Magen-David Buns. This year, I wanted to make something savoury and delicious, that would be the perfect nibble with grown-up drinks at a Purim party.
I considered, and then abandoned a few ideas – spring roll hamantaschen? Yorkshire pudding hamantaschen? Scotch egg hamantaschen? – usually because (especially in the case of the latter) it would have been extremely tricky to mould them to the relevant shape! I finally settled on pizza hamantaschen because:
- the dough and toppings are easy to rearrange into a hamantaschen shape
- savoury melty cheesy bites are perfect with everything from wine and beer to whisky and cocktails
- everyone loves pizza
Get a pizza the action!
I adapted our tried and tested pizza recipe (we have this pizza oven that sits on top of the barbecue, and in the summer we eat a lot of pizza) and made 16 little pizzataschen from one batch of dough. I wasn’t about to fire up the coals in February, so simply cranked the oven up to super-hot and hoped for the best.
Although they only take 10 minutes to bake, it seemed like forever! The wonderful rich aroma of freshly made pizza had all our mouths watering, and somehow everyone assembled in the kitchen without needing to be called…
The proof of the pizzataschen…
My daughter Kipper could barely keep her hands off these delicious morsels long enough for me to take a photo! Even DH was getting impatient. And they didn’t disappoint. Chewily delicious crust around a rich tomato, olive and gooey, stretchy mozzarella filling. They disappeared before you could say ‘Mordechai and Esther’!
I’m afraid I never got to find out how they taste cold. Next time I’ll make a double (or triple!) batch.
Makes 16 pizza hamantaschen.
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Pizza-hamataschen
Ingredients
For the dough
- 4 g dry yeast (approx. 1 tsp)
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 125 ml hand-hot water (1/2 cup)
- 200 g strong white flour (1 2/3 cups)
- pinch salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the sauce
- 50 g tomato puree (approx 3 tbsp)
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp hot water
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
For the filling
- 50 g sliced olives (optional) (approx 3-4 tbsp)
- 125 g grated mozzarella cheese
- fresh basil leaves (optional)
Instructions
To make the dough
- Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the hand-hot water and set aside.
- Put the flour, salt and olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment fitted. When the yeast mixture begins to foam, add to the bowl and set the motor running on low to combine the ingredients to a dough.
- Turn up the mixer slightly and run for 5-10 minutes to give a smooth, soft and elastic dough. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside to rise while you make the fillings.
Make the tomato sauce
- Combine the tomato puree, olive oil, water and oregano till well mixed.
Make the pizza hamantaschen
- Preheat the oven to 220C (430F). Line a baking sheet with baking paper or a silicon liner.
- Knock back the dough and knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Divide into 16 equal pieces.
- Roll/stretch/pat each piece into a circle approximately 7cm across and about 4mm thick. Spread 1/2 tsp of the tomato sauce over the circle of dough, leaving a 1cm border clear around the edge.
- Add approximately 1 tbsp grated mozzarella and a few slices of olive, if using.
- Brush a little water around the edge of the dough circle, then bring the edges up and pinch them together to form a hamantaschen shape. Transfer to a lined baking sheet and sprinkle a little more grated cheese over. Top with a basil leaf if desired.
- Repeat until all 16 pieces of dough have been made into hamantaschen.
- Bake the pizza hamantaschen at 220C (430F) for around 10 minutes until the dough is golden and crisp and the filling is hot and melty. Serve at once!
Looking for more hamantaschen recipes?! Try these classic yeasted poppy seed hamantaschen buns, or these quick & delicious Eccles cake hamantaschen! Or check out this list of the Best Hamantaschen in the World…
Wow, I’ve never tried hamantaschen but I’m drooling all over the screen! Definitely need to make these soon for my next party.
Thanks Andrea. I hope you enjoy them!
Oooooh! I’ve never had hamantaschen but I LOVE the look of these!
Thanks Becca. They usually have a sweet filling like poppy seeds (very traditional), chocolate or something fruity, but I’m definitely enjoying this savoury variation. You should check out the more traditional ones if you get the chance!
These look really delicious! I love how this group has such a wide ethnic group so we really get to see food different from our own!
Thanks Heidi! Yes, one of the joys of reading different food blogs is always finding something new and interesting. So glad you liked these.
Wow this is such a cute idea! I used to work in a bakery where we sold sweet hamantaschen – not as impressive as these though! I’ll be trying them.
Thanks Mairi. I think the sweet ones needed some competition! I hope you enjoy them.
I love anything with the word ‘pizza’ in it! These look fun! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Traci! I’m a sucker for pizza too.
I eat all things pizza related. I will have to give this recipe a shot.
Thanks Jacque. Everyone loves pizza!
I haven’t tried any hamantaschen yet but I can eat anything pizza :)! Like the way they look and I bet they taste delicious!
Thanks Julia! I know how you feel about pizza 😀
Hamantaschen are usually sweet but I was in a savoury mood…
Those are so cute! What a fun idea. They’d be perfect for a party!
Thanks Liz. Yes, they make great finger food!