Lekker Brekker Monday: Salami & black olive pizza toast

This is an air fryer recipe, though I have chosen to publish it in our Lekker Brekker Monday series, because it is a breakfast recipe too. A slice of ordinary white bread, lightly toasted, can easily be turned into a sneaky “pizza”.

It was The Foodie’s Wife who, spying the kudu salami I had brought home from the Karoo Food Festival in Cradock, said, “Ah! Pizza toast!” Not one to argue unless I know I can win the argument, I made precisely that for breakfast the next morning.

I happened to have a jar of passata (strained tomatoes) in the fridge, a product that is so simple but so right for use as the first layer on top of a pizza. I sliced thin rounds of the kudu salami I had bought (from Kwando Karoo) and scooped some pitted black olives out of a jar. The cheese I used was Cheddar, but whatever you have will do. Mozzarella would be ideal, of course.

You can be as fancy or as simple you like in your choice of bread for these easy-to-make pizza toasts. Grabbing a shop-bought loaf is nothing to be embarrassed about. The massive numbers of “government loaves” sold nationwide every day do seem to suggest that most people eat them, even if we do like classier loaves.

A higher grade of bread, whether ciabatta or sourdough or whatever you fancy, will obviously give a better result. Then again, from one point of view, a simple store-bought white, sliced loaf is arguably better for getting that simple thin base that you want in a pizza. Thick-cut sourdough, for instance, might not seem quite pizza-like enough. Anyway, the choice is yours. I went with ordinary commercial white bread, as you can see in the photo.

(Makes 4)

Ingredients

4 slices of white bread, thinly sliced

4 generous Tbsp of passata (1 per each slice)

12 to 16 slices of Kwando Karoo kudu salami, or similar (3 or 4 per slice)

12 pitted black olives, whole (4 per slice)

Cheddar cheese, or similar, grated

Toast bread until the top sides have crisped

Method

Lightly toast the bread on both sides in an air fryer, set to grill or air fry, until the surfaces are crisp but not coloured. You just want it to firm up a bit.

Spread tomato pasta (passata, or purée) on the top sides, right to the edges. Add slices of salami. Add whole black olives (remove pips if they have any), and sprinkle cheese over fairly generously.

I cooked them in an air fryer on the grill setting, at 200℃, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and turned bubbly and brown in parts.

Or use the air fryer setting if yours doesn’t have a grill setting. There’s no need to time them, really, as you can open an air fryer’s drawer at any time to check. When they look right, they’re ready. DM

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Writer 2023, jointly with TGIFood columnist Anna Trapido. Order his book, foodSTUFF, here

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.

This dish is photographed on a plate by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.