Pizza with rocket pesto, hazelnuts and sundried tomatoes

by Alice on October 17, 2009

Pizza with rocket pesto, sundried tomatoes and hazelnuts

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.

Pizza with rocket pesto, sundried tomatoes and hazelnuts

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.


Posted in: autumn, baking, breakfast and brunch, cooked, pizza, savoury, summer

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

1 MsGourmet October 18, 2009 at 04:27

Alice this looks absolutely amazing!

2 Emily Forrest October 18, 2009 at 06:43

Your pictures are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen on a food blog! Really stunning.

3 Alice October 18, 2009 at 12:21

MsGourmet, Emily: I’m flattered!

4 El October 18, 2009 at 16:04

This looks wonderful! I love the pesto!

5 Mihl October 19, 2009 at 04:33

How stunning this looks! It looks almost too beautiful to eat.

6 Frenchie October 19, 2009 at 06:30

This sounds unbelievably flavorful. I would love to try out this recipe.

7 Alice October 19, 2009 at 15:10

Mihl, too late!

8 Alice October 19, 2009 at 15:12

Thank you El, you can even try this kind of pesto with pasta, in which case I’d definitely choose spaghetti.

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