I was inspired to make a courgette pizza base I found at the thekitchensgarden and than I liked it so much I made it again and took pictures. Today Martin, the farmer I buy courgettes from, asked me for the recipe, so I thought I’d better post it here.
Courgette Pizza base recipe (makes two 8 inch pizzas):
2 medium sized courgettes, about 1lb in weight (should be about 2 cups grated)
2 free range eggs (beaten)
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of good cheddar
1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
I couldn’t find my cup measures (perhaps I left them in America many years ago), so I used a glass pint jug – measuring half a pint to one cup (it worked well).
Grate two medium courgettes and put them in a colander to drain – sprinkle on about a quarter of a teaspoon of salt and the juice of a lemon to facilitate this. Allow 10 – 20 minutes for them to expel their water. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 250ºC and beat two eggs in large bowl. When the courgettes have drained, squeeze as much moisture out as you can with your hands. Mix the courgettes into the eggs with a fork. Sprinkle in the flour and keep stirring, add the grated cheddar and mix that in too. This is very simple and no kneading necessary. The mixture will be slightly sticky and not like a regular dough. It will make a large pizza, but I thought it would be nice to vary the toppings, so split it in half. It seemed to be about right for my cast iron frying pan (which is oven proof), so I gave the pan a liberal coating of flour (to stop it sticking) and spread out enough mixture to cover the bottom, using my knuckles and the back of a spoon. Bake the pizza base blind (with no topping) for 15 to 20 minutes on the lowest rack in the oven. When it looks slightly browned as per my top picture, it will make for a good crispy base.
Tomato Sauce recipe (topping for 2 -3 pizzas):
5 medium sized tomatoes (blanched)
6 pieces of garlic (chopped)
8 torn basil leaves
a pinch of crushed chilli
a squirt of tomato purée
a splash of red wine vinegar
a splash of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
This is best prepared before making the pizza base.
Heat some olive oil in a saucepan (if using tinned anchovies on the pizza, use the anchovy olive oil for extra flavour) and fry the garlic for a couple of minutes. Peel the blanched tomatoes and crush them into the oil and garlic with a potato masher. Rip a few fresh basil leaves and stir them into the sauce with a splash of red wine vinegar, a squirt of tomato purée, a pinch of crushed chilli and salt and pepper to taste. If using anchovy oil the sauce will probably be salty enough. Allow the sauce to simmer for 5 – 10 minutes and allow to cool.
When the pizza base is cooked, add a topping of your choice. Above, I spread my tomato sauce on the base first, followed by a few slices of chorizo, slices of mozzarella, a few basil leaves, Kalamata olives, black pepper and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
This went back into the oven, on the bottom shelf for 10 – 15 minutes, until it looked done.
I made a second pizza with anchovies canned in olive oil.
I was really impressed by the courgette pizza base, it’s quicker and easier to make than real pizza dough and is suitably crispy. I had no trouble sliding pizzas out of the frying pan, with the aid of a pallete knife.
This is a perfect way to use up the summer glut of tomatoes and courgettes. It’s worth noting that when tomatoes are cooked twice (as opposed to eaten raw or cooked once), they release lots of lycopene which supposedly guards against cancer and lowers cholesterol.
I buy my courgettes and tomatoes (along with almost all other vegetables on a weekly basis) from Perry Court Farm, which has a stall at Islington Farmers’ Market on Sunday mornings. They can also be found at most other London Farmers’ Markets.
I didn’t make one after reading the recipe at thekitchensgarden.com too, though I meant to do it. Now I really will this week, with your tomato sauc, anchovies, greek olives, & arugula & green onions I think. Oh yum!
Thank you for you featuring it again, Mad, & remindin me.
Thanks! There was something there that grabbed me and when I mentioned it to a couple of friends they liked the idea too, which is what got me to photograph it. I’m sure it will taste great with most toppings.
Oh my that looks good. It’s an inventive way to use courgettes! Everything about that looks delicious. I love the addition of some Spanish elements. Perfectly seasonal and customizable!
Thanks Amanda – Cecilia mentioned using almond flour, which would make it very Spanish indeed and perfect for lots of summer vegetables 🙂
Yes – I love it too! In fact it is my go to pizza base for this summer and it is very filling! I love the anchovies – I will be trying that next time! Thank you! c
Thank you for posting it in the first place – it’s really simple and tastes fantastic 😉
Fantastic! Saw it at Celi’s, with all my recent ‘troubles’ had not made it . . . but in spite of winter and lousy tomatoes here, there seems to be plenty of zucchini and the piece of deliciousness will be tried soonest! Thanks to both you and Miss C 🙂 !!!
Thanks Eha, I hope you enjoy it!
I was intrigued when I saw this on Cecilia’s post but now am doubly intrigued and I have a glut of courgettes so this is on the cards for this week for sure.
Thanks Nadia, you could do a courgette themed dinner, finishing with your courgette cake 🙂
Good idea. I have made a cold courgette soup for lunch today actually.
Excellent!
Nice.
Thanks Rosemary 🙂
What a great idea! It sounds and looks delicious! Thanks!
Thanks James – it’s definitely worth trying 🙂
Like everyone else, I was tempted when I first saw it…now I’m convinced! Love anchovies on a pizza, yum.
All this talk about anchovy pizza is making want to make these again tonight!
YUM!!! All this talk about pizza! I think I’ll mix it up a bit and use zucchini instead! (Just kidding….)
Ha ha – you might have to on your side of the pond!
Just a little American humor. 🙂
They’ll be mixing it up with zucchini in Italy too 🙂
Oh, right! (that was pretty American of me too~ self absorbed)
That’s wonderful you made one of C’s recipes! The pizza looks outstanding and love that you also made your own pizza sauce.
Thanks Kathryn – I often make the sauce in summer when there are lots of tomatoes and freeze it in batches. It’s useful for a lot of recipes 🙂
I think this is my kind of pizza, I have to try it.
Hi Gerlinde – I hope you enjoy it!
This recipe is coming with me on holiday, it looks totally delicious and easy to make!
Hi Sara – I hope you enjoy it. I found that the mixture is most likely to stick if it is too runny. The more dough like it is, the better. I hope you have a great holiday!