Courgette pizza with herby goat’s cheese and chipotle chutney
This courgette pizza has a sunshine yellow base made from yellow courgettes, and is topped with crispy courgette fritti and creamy goat’s cheese. If you don't have a pizza oven, this can also be made in a regular oven preheated for an hour at its highest setting. The pizza will take about 10–15 minutes to cook.
Ingredients
Pizza base
- 400ml of water
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar
- 7g of fast-action dried yeast
- 25g of sourdough starter, ripe
- 600g of white bread flour
- 7g of salt
- semolina, for dusting
Chipotle chilli chutney
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 500g of tomatoes , roughly chopped
- 4 red chillies , deseeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 175g of brown sugar
- 75ml of red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chipotle flake
Yellow courgette sauce
- 2 yellow courgettes , peeled and diced
- 1 handful of basil leaves , roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 75ml of olive oil
- salt and pepper , to taste
Whipped herby goat's cheese
- 250g of goat's cheese
- 70g of cream cheese
- 1 handful of basil , roughly chopped
- 1 handful of fresh parsley , roughly chopped
- 1 handful of dill , roughly chopped
- salt , to taste
Courgette fritti
- 4 courgettes , sliced lengthwise into thin strips
- 100g of plain flour
- 100g of cornflour
- 1 pinch of salt , plus more for seasoning as needed
- 1 egg yolk
- 200ml of sparkling water
- 1l vegetable oil, for frying
Garnish
- 1 handful of fresh parsley , leaves picked
Equipment
- pizza oven
- pizza peel
Method
Prepare the sourdough pizza base two days ahead of cooking
Whisk the yeast and sugar into the water, then whisk in the sourdough starter
- 400ml of water
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar
- 7g of fast-action dried yeast
- 25g of sourdough starter, ripe
Add in the strong bread flour along with the salt and stir well with a wooden spoon until you have a rough, shaggy dough
- 600g of white bread flour
- 7g of salt
Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth, around 10 minutes
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and cover with cling film
Set aside at room temperature and leave to proof for 2 hours, or until the dough has almost doubled in size
After 2 hours, divide the dough into two pieces
Wrap in cling film and leave to rise in the fridge for 2 days
Once the dough has risen, start preparing the chipotle chilli chutney
Heat the vegetable oil in a pan then the remaining chutney ingredients
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 500g of tomatoes , roughly chopped
- 4 red chillies , deseeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 175g of brown sugar
- 75ml of red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chipotle flake
Bring the mix to a boil, then turn the heat down and leave to bubble for around 2–3 hours or until it reaches a jammy, chutney-like consistency
Meanwhile take the peeled and diced courgette pieces and lay them out on a baking tray
- 2 yellow courgettes , peeled and diced
Preheat the oven to 180°C
Drizzle the squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
Add in a splash of water, then cover the baking tray with tin foil
Roast them in the oven for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for 15 more minutes
Once the courgette is soft, add it to a food processor along with the basil and garlic
- 1 handful of basil leaves , roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove
Blitz until smooth, then drizzle in the olive oil in a continuous stream while blending until you’ve reached your desired consistency
- 75ml of olive oil
Taste and season with salt and pepper then set aside
For the whipped herby goat’s cheese, add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blitz until smooth and aerated. Set aside until serving
- 250g of goat's cheese
- 70g of cream cheese
- 1 handful of basil , roughly chopped
- 1 handful of fresh parsley , roughly chopped
- 1 handful of dill , roughly chopped
- salt , to taste
Next, prepare the courgette fritti. First whisk together the flours and salt
- 100g of plain flour
- 100g of cornflour
- 1 pinch of salt , plus more for seasoning as needed
Whisk in the egg and sparkling water, whisking until a thin batter forms
- 1 egg yolk
- 200ml of sparkling water
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot until around 180°C
- 1l vegetable oil, for frying
Carefully dip each of the courgette strips into the batter
- 4 courgettes , sliced lengthwise into thin strips
Fry them in the oil for a couple of minutes, or until crisp, then drain on a plate covered with paper towel
Season with salt then set aside until ready to plate
Next, prepare the pizza oven for cooking the pizza and dust a pizza peel with semolina
- semolina, for dusting
Use your fingertips to flatten the middle of the dough, gently pushing it out and creating a crust as you go
Lift the dough onto the back of your hands, then use the weight of the dough to gently stretch it out even more
Place the dough onto the dusted pizza peel, then top with the roasted summer squash sauce
Spoon over dollops of the whipped herby goats cheese. Cook in the pizza oven for around 1 minute, turning every 10 seconds, or until bubbly and cooked through
Top the pizza with the chipotle chilli chutney, some extra whipped herby goats cheese, the courgette fritti and some fresh parsley leaves
- 1 handful of fresh parsley , leaves picked
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Courgette pizza with herby goat’s cheese and chipotle chutney
