The recipe

1 pizza, about 28 to 30 cmabout 30 minutes, plus dough proofing and preheating

Ingredients

  • 250 g proofed pizza dough, ready to bake
  • 120 g courgette
  • 60 g ricotta, separated whey poured off
  • 40 g mozzarella, well drained
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • ¼ tsp finely grated lemon zest, peel suitable for eating
  • 4 to 6 small basil leaves
  • Salt and black pepper
  • A little flour or fine semolina for shaping

Method

  1. Preheat to 250°C with conventional top and bottom heat. Heat a suitable stone or steel according to its instructions. Keep dough covered until supple.
  2. Wash and slice the courgette about 2 mm thick. Sauté in the oil for 4 to 5 minutes, letting excess liquid evaporate. Salt lightly and spread on a plate to cool.
  3. Stir ricotta smooth with a little salt and pepper. Cut up mozzarella. Wash the lemon and finely grate its zest; wash and dry the basil.
  4. Open dough to about 28 to 30 cm. Check that it slides on a lightly dusted peel. Spread ricotta thinly and distribute courgette and mozzarella loosely.
  5. Bake for approximately 8 to 12 minutes, checking from minute six. The underside and centre should cook through before the topping becomes too dark.
  6. Remove, finish with a little lemon zest and basil, slice and serve immediately.

Sauté the courgette and let it cool briefly

Choose a small firm courgette and weigh out 120 g for one pizza. Cut it into slices around 2 mm thick. Cook with a teaspoon of olive oil in a sufficiently large frying pan for about four to five minutes, until flexible and excess liquid has evaporated. A few lightly golden patches are welcome, but the slices should not become dark all over. Spread them on a plate to cool. Hot vegetables would warm the raw dough during topping and make launching the pizza harder.

Ricotta forms the white base. Pour away any visibly separated whey before weighing 60 g, then stir the cheese smooth with a little salt and pepper. Add another 40 g well-drained mozzarella to the topping. The cheeses have different roles: spread ricotta as a thin cream and distribute mozzarella in small pieces. A thick layer of ricotta beneath wet vegetables would weigh down the base. This modest quantity leaves room for the courgette without overwhelming its mild flavour.

Finish with lemon zest after baking

Start with 250 g fully proofed pizza dough. Allow separately for dough preparation and preheating the baking surface. Open the relaxed ball to approximately 28 to 30 cm, leaving a narrow rim. Spread the ricotta gently with the back of a spoon. If it is firm, first dot it over the base in small portions, then join them with light pressure. Avoid dragging forcefully across thin dough. Arrange the courgette and mozzarella loosely over the top afterwards.

Use a washed lemon whose peel is suitable for eating. Finely grate just the outer yellow layer, avoiding the bitter white pith. Start with a quarter teaspoon of zest for the whole pizza and scatter it on with the basil only after baking. Lemon juice is unnecessary in this version and would add more liquid to the surface. For a brighter finish, try a little extra zest on one slice before deciding whether the rest of the pizza needs it.