Rosemary, Pumpkin, Feta Pizza

Feeds 2 - 3

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I am as far from alternative as they get - save for a 52 year old named Karen perhaps. I wear Lululemon leggings religiously, I spend a lot of time in pin-striped sweat pants from Marks & Spencers, and I would give my left leg to see Taylor Swift in concert. Cut to one of my good friends from middle school, who lives in her Grandmothers old home in Melbourne, works as a cheesemonger, and thrifts old blankets for pieces for her clothing store called 'Chkn Needle Soup'. Give this girl the Millenial Melbournian Medal because she can proudly rock the alternative status on her forehead if she wanted to.

With the extra layer of cool she has wrapped around her has cometh the coolest pizza I've ever eaten. Sitting at this grand old dining table in her (yes) dining room, we sipped red wine, stuffed our faces, and any skepticism I held was power-hosed off of me after the first bite.

PRO TIPS

• BUTTERNUT SQUASH WORKS AS GOOD AS PUMPKIN. Please don’t stress if you can only find one of those tiny, inedible, carving pumpkins that they occasionally sell at Sainsbury's. Butternut works beautifully on this pizza.

• Don’t worry about following exact measurements, this pizza usually tastes good no matter how much or how little rosemary, sauce, veggie etc. you put on it.

• Try not to go too heavy on the pumpkin and/or aubergine – but especially the pumpkin!! It can weigh the pizza down and make the base a little soggy. About 4 pieces of 1cm thick pumpkin slices will do.

• Have fun with the flavours and veggies, seriously, pretty much anything will work on this pizza – save for like… carrots and peas.

• You really don’t need that much cheese. Trust me. As an advocate for houses made out of cheese, I assure you, the feta, and a little bit of parmesan, is enough.

• If you're Aussie, try pick up some Meredith Dairy Goats Feta. That's the one Ebony used, and I wish we had it over here.

Recipe

Ingredients

Base

• 1 cup of Greek yoghurt

• 2 cups of self-raising flour (wholemeal or white)

Toppings

• 6 tablespoons of tomato paste

• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed

• 1/3 cup of olive oil

• 250g of pumpkin, sliced thinly

• 2 red bell peppers

• 1 yellow bell pepper

• 2 medium-sized zucchinis (optional)

• 1 red onion, thinly sliced

• 1 cup of crumbled cream feta or goats cheese

• ½ cup Parmesan cheese

• 2 tablespoons of Pine nuts

Method

1. Slice the red and yellow peppers into medium-thick strips. Place on baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of rosemary leaves. Place red pepper in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until soft and slightly charred at the edges. Set aside.

2. Slice 1cm thick pumpkin slices and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle a couple of rosemary leaves on top. Place pumpkin in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside.

3. Mix together Greek yoghurt and flour (using your hands is the easiest way to incorporate the two). Add extra flour if the dough is still sticky.

4. Create a big ball of dough and then separate into two or three balls. (Two for medium sized pizza and three for small pizzas)

5. Cover and set aside whilst preparing toppings.

6. Spiralise your zucchini into discs OR just thinly slice zucchini into discs. Lay the zucchini out and sprinkle some salt over it and set it aside for 15 minutes. Then pat the zucchini dry (the salt will draw out moisture).

7. Roll out your pizza dough balls to 0.5 – 1 cm thickness on a floured surface. Place your pizza bases on baking trays lined with baking sheets. (This is important because they will fall apart if you try to transfer them after the toppings have been added.)

8. In a separate bowl, mix together tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of rosemary, crushed garlic, and olive oil. This is your pizza sauce.

9. Ladle on two to three tablespoons of the sauce you mixed together (or however much you want) to each base.

10. Layer down the cooked pumpkin – about 4 slices per pizza. Then add your bell peppers and red onion.

11. Dump about a cup of the zucchini on each pizza and spread it across evenly. Place the feta/goats cheese evenly across the pizzas. Sprinkle the pine nuts evenly across the pizzas. Sprinkle the parmesan across all the pizzas. Finally, add a couple more rosemary leaves over the top for good measure.

12. Cook each pizza for about 10 – 15 minutes (until the dough is golden brown around the edges).

13. Take out of the oven, let it cool down for a couple of minutes, slice, then eat!

Stay Salty,

Romy xx