Pizza Bianca with Courgette, Prosciutto and Garlic

Pizza is always a good idea…

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Pizza is a dish that I primarily reserve for eating out as nothing can beat that light and slightly charred dough that comes from it being baked in an authentic pizza oven. I currently have a culinary quest however to create a recipe that can produce pizza that rivals the ones I have eaten at my favourite pizzerias (Pizza Pilgrims and Home Slice for anyone who is curious) using a regular kitchen oven.

The pizza recipe that I am sharing with you today is not at that level quite yet but it is definitely a step in the right direction as it is by far the best home made pizza I have eaten. In an attempt to recreate the wood fired pizza oven I turned up my oven to it’s highest heat setting and placed a pizza tray in it to get a blistering heat going. I left this to heat up for 15 minutes before putting my pizza dough onto the tray and then back into to oven for 5 minutes to cook. This allowed the base to crisp up and the dough to stay light and rise quickly – in short cooking pizza at a high temperature for a short period of time is the key!

Now to discuss the toppings! I am aware that pizza without a rich passata may be sacrilege to some people but it is how pizza is eaten in Rome (i.e. the capital of pizza land) which I believe brings a certain legitimacy to it… Either way it is still delicious – I instead used olive oil mixed with herbs and garlic and brushed this over the dough before piling on griddled courgette, prosciutto and mozarella. Once this has been cooked it is all topped off with fresh basil, spinach and another drizzle of olive oil. This creates a heavenly pizza that you can even pretend is healthy because of all of the vegetables; excluding the passata also makes this pizza a lot lighter and perfect for Spring!

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Makes 1 large pizza

Prep time: 1 hour 15 minutes 

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 200 g strong bread flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp instant yeast
  • 1/2 tsp caster sugar
  • 100 ml luke warm water
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp mixed herbs
  • 2 gloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 courgette, ribboned with a peeler
  • 2 slices of prosciutto, torn up
  • 125 g fresh mozzarella, torn up
  • 1 handful of basil
  • 1 handful of spinach
  • salt and pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil

Method

  1. Sift the flour and salt onto a clean surface and make a well in the middle of the flour. Combine the yeast, water and sugar and then stir in 1/2 tbsp of olive oil. Leave this to sit for a couple of minutes before gradually adding it to the flour mixture, use a fork to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Once a rough dough has been formed knead it for approximately 15 minutes until the dough has become smooth and springy. Drizzle 1/2 tbsp olive oil into a bowl, place the dough into it, cover it with a tea towel and leave it in a warm place for an hour until it has doubled in size.
  2. Preheat your oven to it’s highest heat setting (I had it on 300 degrees C) and place either a large baking tray or pizza stone in it.
  3. Combine the remaining olive oil, mixed herbs and garlic. Using either a griddle pan or frying pan cook the courgette ribbons for one minute.
  4. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and use your hands to stretch it out until the dough is approximately 1 cm thick and will fit onto the baking tray. Remove the tray from the oven and carefully place the dough onto it. Use a spoon to brush over the olive oil mixture then sprinkle over the courgette, prosciutto and mozzarella. Season the pizza with salt and pepper and then place back into the oven for 5 minutes.
  5. Remove from the oven and scatter over the fresh herbs and spinach plus a drizzle of good quality olive oil. Slice it up and serve!

Thank you so much for reading this post, I hope that you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think in the comments as I love hearing from you and do not forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook and on this blog to see more recipes and foodie musings from me. The link to do both can be found below if on a tablet/ phone or in the side bar if on a computer. I have also recently joined Pinterest so follow me on there for even more foodie inspiration – my username is Wish to Dish.

 

 

43 thoughts on “Pizza Bianca with Courgette, Prosciutto and Garlic”

  3. judilyn says:
    Reply

    We tend to lean towards the heavier tomato-veggie-sausage-pepperoni type pizza, but this lighter version very much appeals to the “girly” in me!! Very beautiful and enticing!!!

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie

    Liked by 1 person

  6. abbeycoseattle says:
    Reply

    I too am on the quest for a nice woodfired type dough that I can make at home. I have a pizza stone and think it must have gone bad because it started smoking terribly. This looks perfect so I will give it a try next time we are making our own dough!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. comfortdeliveredhome says:
    Reply

    I have never been a huge fan of pizza, per se, however, I would make and eat this pizza! It is stunning, first off, and I love that it is not overly sauced.
    I usually cook my pizza dough for a bit before the toppings, It might help you achieve that level you are aiming for.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Pingback: Pizza Bianca with Courgette, Prosciutto and Garlic — Wish to Dish — С любовью к людям!
  19. PlateByState says:
    Reply

    I love that you call it courgette; I call them squash or zucchini, but I remember in England we would call it courgette… same with arugula~ we’d have to ask for rockets lol this is a great recipe! Thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

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