White pizza with courgettes and ricotta
Two white pizzas with fior di latte, oven-roasted courgettes and Parmesan, finished with creamy spoonfuls of lemon ricotta in the last few minutes of baking, then torn mint and a little lemon juice.
Ingredients for two
| 400 g | Ready-made pizza dough 1 rectangular roll of chilled pareve pizza dough, taken out 20 minutes beforehand |
| 4 g | Fine salt 2 g for the courgettes; 2 g in the ricotta |
| 250 g | Courgettes 2 small, firm courgettes, cut into 2 mm rounds |
| 200 g | Ricotta (250 g pot) kosher ricotta, drained if any whey is visible; add in spoonfuls (a ciuffi), never spread it |
| 100 g | Fresh fior di latte mozzarella (125 g ball in liquid) weight without liquid; torn into 2 cm pieces and patted dry |
| 30 g | Parmesan or Grana Padano (250 g piece) freshly grated: 20 g in the ricotta, 10 g scattered over the courgettes |
| 60 g | Lemon 1/2 lemon: grate the zest from half the whole fruit before cutting, for the ricotta; squeeze one quarter for serving |
| 20 g | Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp: 5 g over the courgettes on each pizza before baking, then 5 g per pizza after baking |
| 5 g | Fresh mint about 10 small leaves |
| 1.5 g | Ground black pepper 3/4 tsp, coarsely ground |
| 5 g | Garlic 1 clove, crushed and infused in the oil for the courgettes, then removed (optional) |
Method
- Take the dough out of the fridge. Preheat the oven to 230°C conventional, with an upturned heavy tray in the upper third, for 25 minutes. Slice the courgettes into 2 mm rounds, toss with 2 g salt in a colander and leave to release their water for 20 minutes. Tear the mozzarella into 2 cm pieces and pat dry; drain the ricotta if needed.
- Press the courgettes firmly in a tea towel. Grate the zest from half the whole lemon, then squeeze one quarter for serving. Mix the ricotta with a fork, adding the zest, 20 g grated Parmesan, 2 g salt and the coarsely ground pepper. Grate the remaining 10 g Parmesan separately.
- Unroll the dough on its baking paper, on a board or the back of a cold tray, into a 30 × 40 cm rectangle. Scatter over well-spaced pieces of mozzarella, lay the raw courgettes flat in a single layer, drizzle the courgettes with 10 g oil and sprinkle over the Parmesan. Leave a 1 cm border; do not add ricotta yet.
- Pull the paper and pizza onto the hot tray and bake for 12–15 minutes according to the packet instructions. After 5–6 minutes, lift the edge with a spatula and remove the paper if the base is still pale. With 4 minutes left, pull out the shelf and use a teaspoon to add the ricotta in 16–20 dollops between the courgettes. It is ready when the base is dry and golden, the edges crisp, the mozzarella melted and the ricotta still white and creamy. Out of the oven, add the torn mint, a drizzle of the remaining 10 g oil and a few drops of juice from the lemon quarter. Cut into 8 and serve immediately.
White pizza with shop-bought dough, with the toppings prepared while the oven heats; dry the courgettes well and add the ricotta in spoonfuls towards the end, never spread out.
Lighter version
- Type 00 wheat flour for pizza : 260 g
- Water : 156 g
- Fine salt : 10 g
- Ricotta (250 g pot) : 150 g
- Fresh fior di latte mozzarella (125 g ball in liquid) : 60 g
- Parmesan or Grana Padano (250 g piece) : 20 g
- add Rocket 40 g (a handful, added raw after baking)
Make 200 g dough balls (240 g flour, 156 g water, the same yeast and 6 g salt in the dough instead of 8 g). Stretch them thinner, to 30 cm: the crust will be almost crisp.
In step 5, mix the 150 g ricotta with the zest, 15 g Parmesan, 2 g salt and the pepper. In step 7, use 30 g mozzarella per pizza, the same raw courgettes laid flat, the drizzle of oil and the remaining Parmesan (5 g for both pizzas). In step 8, add 75 g ricotta per pizza in 6–8 dollops. After baking, add the mint and a handful of raw rocket, without the final drizzle of oil.
A thinner crust, less cheese and a handful of rocket: the ricotta stays in creamy spoonfuls, and the pizza is lighter but still delicious.
On your plate
Recipe
1084 kcal · protein 40 g · carbs 140 g · fat 38 g
Quantities per person
- 160 g Type 00 wheat flour for pizza
- 97.5 g Water
- 1 g Dried baker's yeast
- 15 g Fine durum wheat semolina
- 6 g Fine salt
- 125 g Courgettes
- 100 g Ricotta (250 g pot)
- 50 g Fresh fior di latte mozzarella (125 g ball in liquid)
- 15 g Parmesan or Grana Padano (250 g piece)
- 30 g Lemon
- 10 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 2.5 g Fresh mint
- 0.75 g Ground black pepper
- 2.5 g Garlic
Cooking tips
This is a dairy dinner: serve a pareve vegetable starter, without bread or mozzarella so it does not repeat the pizza. The stated 210 minutes cover the dough balls' final rest, preheating and baking both pizzas on the day; make the dough itself the evening before in 25 minutes, or that morning, followed by 1 hour at room temperature and 5–6 hours in the fridge. In a very warm room, check the dough balls after 2 hours: they should stay puffy, not spread into puddles. The courgettes do not need frying: salted, well dried and laid flat while raw, they roast on the pizza and develop brown spots in 9 minutes. For extra flavour, you can sear them in a single layer in a very hot, dry pan for 1 minute per side without stirring before adding them. Add the ricotta in spoonfuls (a ciuffi), never as a layer; if you prefer not to open the oven, add it to the piping-hot pizza after baking, so it warms through and stays creamy. The lemon quarter gives more juice than needed: use 3–4 drops per pizza, since the zest already provides the aroma. The garlic infusion is optional; it flavours the courgette oil without leaving visible garlic.
Ricotta and courgette pizza bianca from the pizzerias of Rome and Naples: ricotta a ciuffi, roasted courgettes and a mint and lemon finish.
Comments and reviews
No comments published yet.
Share your experience
Your first name will appear with your comment. No additional email is required. Comments are reviewed before publication.