The movie:Director Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 crime thriller follows Keanu Reeves as undercover FBI agent Johnny Utah who infiltrates the local surfing community in order to track down a gang of bank robbers called the Ex-Presidents. An intense bromance ensues between Utah and the leader of the gang, Bodhi, played beautifully by Patrick Swayze. Gary Busey brings us the character of Angelo Pappas, Utah's partner and Dad-figure, offering a convincing portrait of a curmudgeonly old cop and full-blown meatball sandwich addict.
The scene:"It's time for lunch," Pappas tells Utah as they are parked across from a bank, hoping to catch the Ex-Presidents . "Angelo, it's 10.30." "Right around that corner, there's a sandwich shop. They sell meatball sandwiches. Best I've ever tasted. Would you go and get me two?"
As Utah orders the sandwiches, we can see the Ex-Presidents pull up and run into the bank in full heist gear, while an unaware Utah happily delivers the sandwiches to Pappas.
The food:Taking inspiration from Pappas's love of meatball sandwiches, we've worked with the pizza don at the Big Blue Bus to create our Point Break Pizza. If you can't make it to the Bernard Shaw, recreate it at home by following our time-saving, cheat's version which uses shop-bought pizza bases.
The recipe:Here's what you need for two Point Break Pizzas. We have gone with the cheat's method by using shop-bought pizza bases but you can get a bit of the Big Blue Bus at home by following Olly's dough recipe, at facebook.com/thebigbluebus.
INGREDIENTS Olive oil, 6 to 8 good quality Italian pork sausages (we like Hicks & Sons), 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 red chilli, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 2 good quality shop-bought pizza bases, 1 ball of buffalo mozzarella, Fresh basil leaves
METHOD Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Squeeze the meat out of your sausages and use your hands to roll it into bite-sized meatballs. Fry them for 15 minutes, until browned and cooked through.
Meanwhile, heat a little more olive oil in another frying pan. Finely slice the garlic and red chilli (de-seed the chilli if you like less heat) and fry them for three minutes, until the garlic is golden. Add the chopped tomatoes and balsamic vinegar and stir well. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
Spread the tomato sauce onto your pizza base. Put the meatballs and the mozzarella (torn into bits) on top. Cook according to the pizza base package instructions, probably around six to 10 minutes. Serve with some fresh basil leaves scattered on top.
Aoife McElwain is a food writer. Never very far away from something edible, she blogs about food on I Can Has Cook? icanhascook.wordpress.com
