Ingenious dish isn't the final course

THIS week, readers, was going to be my swan song.

It was with an ache in my heart, a tear on my cheek - or is that my tongue in my cheek - that I was to bid you farewell, au revoir, and adios, my food loving amigos.

I was going to say that, try as I might, there were not enough hours in the day for me to continue writing my column for you.

If you objected, I was going to plead that, what with Callums Bistro to run and wife and child to spend "quality time" with, something had to go.

Then I thought about all the fun we've had over the last six months and I realised I just couldn't leave you in culinary chaos.

So here I am - I'm back! And to celebrate I thought I'd give you a classy dish that will elicit multiply compliments from your dinner guests.

Pizza, you may think, does not fit the bill - but pizza without a crust base certainly does.

We have all eaten pizza - some good, some soggy and some indifferent - but I bet not many have enjoyed pizza that does not include a bread or crusted base.

Read on and enhance your pizza repertoire.

Pizza, of course, originates from Italy, a country famed for flair and style and, it would seem, also initiative.

That is how pizza was created.

My good Italian friend Takeaway Toni, who is "numero uno" at making classic pizza, told me that the dish originated in Naples, created by farmers who added their ripe tomatoes to the left-over dough after they had made their daily bread, and made a meal of it. Furthermore, pizza margherita, the most famous of pizzas, was created to celebrate the birth of Princess Margherita, using the colours of the Italian national flag - red tomatoes, green basil, white cheese. Crustless salmon pizza was created in a similar way at Callums for "staff tea" using tail pieces of salmon as the base instead of bread dough and spare cooking cheese and "bits and bobs" added for the topping.

Feel free to be as creative as you want with toppings and I am sure that you too can create your own personal classic. RECIPE:

Crustless Salmon Pizza And Chardonnay Chive Cream Sauce

INGREDIENTS;

450g tail end filleted salmon

12 tomatoes

50g fresh basil

2 tbsp caster sugar

150ml dry white wine

100ml fish stock

100ml double cream

25g chives (finely chopped)

50g black olives (finely chopped)

100g mozzarella cheese

100g button mushrooms (finely sliced)

salt and black pepper METHOD:

PLACE chopped tomatoes, sugar, 50ml wine, 25g basil in a heavy bottom pan and gently cook for 15 minutes or until the ingredients have broken down until you are left with a paste.

Whizz in a blender for 30 seconds.

Using a very sharp knife thinly slice the salmon 3mm thick.

Arrange on a lightly greased oven tray, creating a round base 7-8cm diameter (make four).

Spread the tomato puree over the salmon then add the sliced mushrooms.

Sprinkle liberally with the chopped olives and finally the cheese.

Season liberally with freshly grated black pepper.

Place in oven gas mark 7, electric 190 for seven minutes.

CHARDONNAY CHIVE

CREAM SAUCE

THIS sauce is made simply from fish stock, wine and cream.

For simplicity I recommend the use of a fish stock cube rather than making your own stock.

Make 100ml fish stock, add 100ml dry white wine, boil until the stock and wine are reduced by half.

Add 100ml double cream, add copious amounts of fresh chopped chives. As a presentation tip, use a fish slice to carefully transfer the salmon pizza on to a plate.

Pour the sauce around the edges of the pizza.

Decorate with whole basil leaves.

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