Pizza frittas with courgette, mint & ricotta
Serves 4 or 6-8 as a starter
Easy
Prep:
Cook:
plus at least 2 hrs 20 mins proving
Ever tried frying pizza dough? Give it a go – it creates a light, pillowy base with a crisp crust that's perfect for topping with fresh summer ingredients
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- 450g strong white bread flour
- 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
- olive oilfor proving and frying
- semolinaor polenta, for dusting
- 2 large courgettes
- 50g pine nuts
- 500g ricotta
- small bunch of mintleaves picked
- 1 lemonzested
- pinch of chilli flakes
- extra virgin olive oilfor drizzling
Nutrition: Per serving (8)
- kcal367
- fat13g
- saturates5g
- carbs45g
- sugars2g
- fibre3g
- protein15g
- salt1.4g
Method
step 1
Make the pizza dough up to a day ahead, or at least 3 hrs before cooking. Tip the flour, yeast, 2 tsp salt and 300ml warm water into a large bowl. Mix into a scrappy, wet dough, then tip onto a work surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth and stretchy. Clean the bowl and lightly oil the sides, then return the dough to it, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 2 hrs until doubled in size. Or, put in the fridge and leave to rise overnight.
step 2
(If the dough has been in the fridge, leave to rest at room temperature for 30 mins before shaping.) Dust a work surface with semolina. Divide the dough into four pieces and shape into balls, dusting with a little extra semolina. Stretch or roll the dough into four 18cm pizza bases, and put each one on a square of baking parchment (this will make it easier to transfer them to the frying pan). Leave to rise for 20-30 mins.
step 3
Meanwhile, peel the courgettes into long ribbons using a vegetable peeler, tip into a bowl and toss with a drizzle of olive oil. Heat a griddle pan over a high heat until smoking and cook the courgettes for 1-2 mins on each side until soft with char marks. Remove to a plate and set aside until ready to serve. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a low heat until golden, then set aside.
step 4
Pour enough olive oil into a high-sided frying pan to cover the base and heat over a low-medium heat. Carefully slide a pizza base into the pan and fry for 2-3 mins until golden and puffed up. Flip over and cook for 2-3 mins more, then remove to a plate or board.
step 5
Spoon a quarter of the ricotta over the fried pizza base and spread out, leaving a border around the edge. Top with a quarter each of the griddled courgette ribbons, pine nuts, mint leaves, lemon zest and chilli flakes, and season with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. Drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil and serve warm. Repeat with the remaining bases and toppings, eating them straightaway.
