Rocket Pizza

Rocket Pizza

This is one of my favorites pizzas, and is best eaten in the summer months when tomatoes are at their best. It always reminds me of the mouth watering pizzas from a small town near Frascarti in Italy where the simple flavours of the rocket and tomato on freshly cooked pizzas are irresistible.

access_time
Prep: 60 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Pizzas

  • 15g dry yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 250ml lukewarm water
  • 500g strong flour
  • pinch salt
  • 3 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp Pesto
  • 1 tbsp basil leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Rocket Salad

  • 150g rocket
  • 6 plum or vine ripened tomatoes (some yellow ones make a colourful salad if you can find them)
  • 2 tbsp basil leaves, shredded
  • 300g buffalo mozzarella, diced
  • 2 tbps parmesan shavings
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Pizza: Mix the yeast sugar and water together in a bowl. Leave the mixture for 5-10 minutes until it becomes frothy, then stir in the olive oil. Sieve the flour with a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Gradually stir in the yeast mixture with a wooden spoon, until you have a sticky dough.. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it for 10-15 minutes, until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Oil a large bowl lightly. Place the dough in the bowl and cover it with a tea towel and place it in a warm place for 40-50 minutes until it has risen to double it size.
  2. To Cook: Heat a baking tray or pizza stone in an oven at 180°C for around 30 minutes. Place the risen dough onto a floured surface and punch it down with your hands and divide it into 6 balls. Pull or roll the dough out into rough circles around 20cm diametre and .5mm thick.. Place the dough on the hot baking tray or pizza stone. Mix the garlic, Pesto, basil leaves and olive oil together and brush it over the pizza. Place the pizzas in the hot oven and cook them for 15-20 minutes until they are crisp and golden. Remove the pizzas from the oven and serve.
  3. To Serve: Place the pizzas on serving plates. Scatter the rocket leaves, tomatoes, basil leaves,mozzarella and parmesan on each pizza. Drizzle the olive oil over the salad and season with a little salt and pepper. Serve.