Ingredients

For the rocket pesto

4-6 handfuls of fresh rocket, washed and pat dried
2 small handfuls of fresh parsley, washed and pat dried
1 garlic clove, peeled
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon apple vinegar
a pinch of whole sea salt
a pinch of chilli powder
2-3 handfuls of hazelnuts (and a few more for garnish)
6 sundried tomatoes, soaked in filtered water for about 10 minutes

For the pizza base

1 cup kamut flour
1/4 cup natural mineral or filtered water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
a pinch of whole sea salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Makes 1 pizza.

Directions

Finely chop the rocket and parsley, mince the garlic and transfer everything into a bowl. Season with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and chilli and mix well. Coarsely chop the hazelnuts and add them to the bowl. Pat dry the soaked tomatoes, coarsely chop them, and combine them with the rest of the ingredients. Mix again then refrigerate until use.

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder on to a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a jug, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the water with oil and slowly pour into the flour’s well. Using your hands, fold the flour into the water until mixture comes together. If it’s too wet and sticky, add some more flour. Knead for about 5 minutes and form a ball. Place the dough in a floured bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place for 10 minutes. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board, and dust your hands, the dough, and the rolling pin with a little flour before rolling the dough out. While rolling it to the desired thickness, dust with more flour if necessary. When you have reached the desired thickness, poke a few holes with a fork then fit you pizza to a pizza pan or an ordinary oven tray covered with an oiled sheet of parchment paper. The pizza is now ready to be cooked.

Place the pizza base in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes (baking time will depend on the thickness of the base). Remove from the oven, let cool and spread the rocket pesto all over the pizza in a nice layer. Garnish with some hazelnuts (whole or chopped) and serve.

Ingredients

For the almond-thyme ‘cheese’ (quantities for 1 cup)

1 cup peeled almonds, soaked in cold water for at least 2 hours (in the fridge)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
a pinch of whole sea salt
1 teaspoon almond butter (from untoasted almonds)
fresh chopped thyme, to taste

For the pizza base

1 cup wholemeal wheat flour
1/2 a cup natural mineral or filtered water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
a pinch of whole sea salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the topping

2-3 handfuls of rocket, washed, pat dried and sprinkled with some extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of whole sea salt and a little dried thyme
3-4 fresh figs, washed, trimmed and cut into wedges
almond-thyme cheese, to taste

Makes 1 pizza.

Directions

After soaking time, rinse the almonds and finely grind them in a food processor. Trasfer the ground almonds in a cup, add the lemon juice, salt, almond butter and thyme and mix using a fork or your fingers. Cover and refrigerate for 6-8  hours before using.

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder on to a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a jug, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the water with oil and slowly pour into the flour’s well. Using your hands, fold the flour into the water until mixture comes together. If it’s too wet and sticky, add some more flour. Knead for about 5 minutes and form a ball. Place the dough in a floured bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place for 10 minutes. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board, and dust your hands, the dough, and the rolling pin with a little flour before rolling the dough out. While rolling it to the desired thickness, dust with more flour if necessary. Fit you pizza to a pizza pan or an oiled sheet of parchment paper. You can now poke a few holes with a fork. The pizza is now ready to be cooked.

Place the pizza base in the oven and bake for about 10-20 minutes (baking time will depend on the thickness of the base). Remove from the oven, let cool and top with the rocket, figs and almond-thyme ‘cheese’ (either cold or at room temperature) to taste.

Thoughts, tips, ideas

This pizza is best served cold or very slightly warm.

Feel free to substitute wholemeal flour with semi-whole. You can also use spelt and kamut (whole or semi-whole) instead of wheat.

Makes 2-4 servings (1 pizza).

Ingredients:

For the almond-basil pesto

1 clove garlic

fresh basil leaves (a good handful)

almonds (a good handful)

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

whole sea salt (to taste)

For the tomatoes

4-5 tomatoes (I used Piccadilly, an italian variety. Any other plum tomato, like San Marzano, would work just fine. And I wouldn’t mind trying with cherry tomatoes)

extra virgin olive oil

whole sea salt (to taste)

freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

fresh oregano (a good handful)

For the pizza base

1 cup kamut flour

½ cup warm water

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon whole sea salt

1 teaspoon organic cream of tartar

Directions

Finely chop the basil leaves and garlic with a knife. In a large mortar, crush the almonds with a pestle. Add the chopped basil leaves and garlic and grind the mixture against the sides of the mortar until you get a coarse paste. Add the olive oil and salt and stir well until incorporated.

Slice the tomatoes and drain off the excess water. Place the tomato slices in a bowl, season with a pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle with fresh oregano and olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 180 ° C. Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder on to a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a jug, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the water with oil and slowly pour into the flour’s well. Using your hands, fold the flour into the water until mixture comes together. If it’s too wet and sticky, add some more flour. Knead for about 5 minutes and form a ball. Place the dough in a floured bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place for 10 minutes. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board, and dust your hands, the dough, and the rolling pin with a little flour before rolling the dough out. While rolling it to the desired thickness, dust with more flour if necessary. Fit you pizza to a pizza pan or an oiled sheet of parchment paper. You can now poke a few holes with a fork. The pizza is now ready to be cooked.

Place the pizza base in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Spread some pesto evenly over the pizza base and lay over the tomato slices. Top with the remaining pesto. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with some more fresh oregano (when fresh isn’t available, dried will do). Return to bake for another 15 minutes or until the tomatoes soften. Let cool then garnish with some more oregano and olive oil if you like. Slice and serve.

Thoughts, tips, ideas

You can prepare the pesto and the tomatoes either before making the dough or just before rolling it out.

This pizza turns out slightly sweet. It tastes great with pretty much any kind of topping.