Zucchini and Thyme Pizza

One of my favourite things to eat is a simple zucchini pizza with a sprinkling of thyme, doused in really good olive oil. Add a few slivers of marinated artichokes, and that’s even better. I’d invariably buy pizza at La Renella that would have these two ingredients as toppings in abundant quantities. Back home, I tried to recreate the same flavours, and I am happy to report that it turned out just as well, even though I didn’t have a Vespa on a cobbled street to lean against as I ate the steaming hot pizza.

Because it’s made up of simple flavours, it’s essential to using nothing but the finest and freshest ingredients. I make the dough using the trusty pizza dough recipe from Artisan Breads Everyday. The dough is slightly difficult to manage given the higher water content, but it makes for one really flavourful and crispy crust. Also, it’s imperative to let the dough rise overnight for maximum flavour.

Zucchini and Thyme Pizza

Pizza dough adapted from Artisan Breads Everyday (USA | UK | India). This dough makes 6 large pizzas.

680g / 5 1/3rd cup flour
28g / 2tbsp sugar
14g / 2 tsp salt
3g / 1tsp instant yeast
480g / 2 cups water
30ml / 2 tbsp olive oil

Toppings:
Zucchini, thinly sliced
fresh thyme (dried works as well)
Extra virgin olive oil
Crunch sea salt (Maldon, fleur de sel, etc.)

1. Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl and knead it for 5-7 minutes using the dough hook. If kneading by hand, make sure to oil the hands with the olive oil instead of mixing it into the dough with the rest of the ingredients.
2. Cover, and let the dough rest overnight at room temperature.
3. The next day, punch down the dough and pluck out a small fistful of it. Preheat the oven to 250ºC.
4. Flour it generously and pat it on a floured surface so that it’s ready to be rolled.
5. Lay a sheet of parchment or wax paper on the work surface and then roll the dough on this. This makes transferring the dough to the baking sheet much simpler.
6. Roll the dough out to a thin layer (3mm), not worrying about the shape. I rolled it into a rectangle, just because that’s how they do it in Rome.
7. Next, place the sliced zucchini, sprinkle the thyme and salt and finally, drizzle with olive oil.
8. Slide the parchment on the baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges of the dough have browned and the zucchini has curled up.
9. Slice up and eat!