Embrace your inner artist with this picture-perfect pizza. Bright green, homemade basil pesto meets tangy goats cheese and toasted pine nuts for a breadth of fresh flavour. Garnished with a handful of watercress and edible flowers, it’s almost (almost) too pretty to eat!
Ingredients
Makes 1x 12”/16” pizza
For the pesto
Large bunch fresh basil
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp pine nuts
3 tbsp parmesan (shaved/grated)
120g (4.2oz) olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Pizza
250g/330g (8.8/11.6oz) classic pizza dough ball
75g (2.6oz) goats cheese, cut into disks
1 tbsp pine nuts
3-4 cherry tomatoes, halved
Pinch fresh watercress
Edible flowers, optional
Method
Prepare your pizza dough ahead of time. Our guide to making the perfect Classic Pizza Dough covers everything you need to know.
Add the basil leaves, olive oil, pine nuts, parmesan and garlic to a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Once you’re happy with the consistency, season with salt and pepper, and transfer for a bowl or jar. Whatever you don’t use can be stored in a sealed container for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Fire up your Ooni pizza oven. Aim for 500˚C (952˚F) on the stone baking board inside. You can check the temperature inside your Ooni quickly and easily using the Ooni Infrared Thermometer.
Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan over a medium heat and set aside.
Using a small amount of flour, dust your Ooni pizza peel. Stretch the pizza dough ball out and lay it out on your peel. With a large spoon or ladle, spread an even layer of pesto across the base. Top with slices of goats’ cheese and a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts.
Slide the pizza off the peel and into your pizza oven. Cook for 1-2 minutes, making sure to turn the pizza regularly. Once cooked, remove the pizza from the oven and top with some fresh greens, such as watercress or edible flowers if you’re feeling fancy!
