Pizza with rocket, figs and almond-thyme ‘cheese’

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.

Posted in: autumn,finger food,fruits,pizza,savoury,summer,vegetables

Tagged as: almonds, figs, rocket, thyme