When I first received 30 Minute Meals for Christmas I tore through it, merrily Post-It noting all the ones that looked interesting, like the beef hash, chicken pie, black forest affogato… one that didn’t get the magic yellow sticker was his 30 minute pizza. How on earth can you get a passable pizza in 30 minutes? I was very doubtful it could work.

When the series came round I watched this episode with great interest. He serves it with three salads, and I was amazed that he kicked off by making one of those! He’s only got 30 minutes, and he’s not even using the full half hour for the pizza! Then as per usual, it was a whirlwind of chuck-it-in-the-blender and spread it into the pan. The method reminded me of Heston Blumenthal’s perfect pizza, where he starts it on a hot pan, then transfers it to the grill to finish. And Jamie’s effort looked pretty good, so I relented and gave it a Post-It note.

Then by happy coincidence Domino’s Pizza contact me and ask if I want to try making something that rivals the Spanish Sizzler. The pizza offers chorizo, roast chicken, green peppers and roquito peppers. I’ve previously taken on their Double Decadence with my own pesto pizza to great effect, so rolled my sleeves up in anticipation of another showdown.

Jamie’s dough turned out surprisingly OK. I made it a touch too thick, so next time I would reduce the flour down and add a touch more salt. But jolly nice all the same! How could I doubt the Jamie technique? The toppings themselves were a well-worn combo: spicy, meaty chorizo; milky mozzarella and the pop of tangy fennel seeds. Great!

30 minute Spanish Sizzler pizza (serves 2):

For the base:

1½ mugs of self-raising flour

½ mug tepid water

For the toppings:

150g chorizo sausage, sliced

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 ball of mozzarella (I used Sainsbury’s Basics mozzarella and it’s perfectly good for a pizza topping)

For the sauce:

½ tin tomatoes

About 6 basil leaves including stalks

Pinch of paprika

1 clove garlic

1. Whack the grill on high and put your largest, widest frying pan on a very high heat. Get another pan on a low heat. Stick the normal blade in the food processor.
2. Put the chorizo slices in the small pan and allow to brown. When crisp on one side turn off the heat while you get on with everything else.
3. Pop the flour and water in the food processor, along with a big splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Whizz until it forms a solid, clean ball – shake in a touch more flour if necessary. Remove from the food processor and roll out in a rough circle until approx 1cm thick. Transfer to the frying pan and push out into the edges of the pan.
4. Pop the tomatoes, paprika and basil in a liquidizer with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and some seasoning, then crush in the garlic. Whizz to a fine slush then spoon a thin layer on top of the pizza in the pan (leftovers make a great pasta sauce). Scatter over the fennel seeds, dot with mozzarella and place the chorizo crispy-side down on the pizza.
5. When the pizza is crusty and starting to blacken underneath, pop the pizza under the grill. Cook for a further 4 minutes or until done.