Pizza

White Pizza with Potato, Anchovy and Sage | Ottolenghi

A good alternative to a tomato-based pizza is a white pizza. Make the white base with mascarpone, pecorino, anchovies, sage and lemon zest and a good grind of pepper. You put slices of potatoes on top and bake. If you don’t want to make your own pizza dough, there is the uncomplicated and reasonable option of a store-bought dough. I can see having a white pizza with potato, anchovy and sage for lunch, snack or even dinner. A side dish of vegetables or a salad is all you need for a light meal.

Ottolenghi writes:

“Parmesan is wonderful, of course, with its intense, umami savouriness; but the appeal of tangy, tart and salty pecorino, which is made from sheep’s milk rather than cow’s milk, is its sheer range. Parmesan is always taken to the point of maturity – it’s either mature or very mature – but pecorino comes in all stages of maturity, from young to aged. Young pecorino (fresco) is firm, but creamy and moist, and has a mild, milky flavour. Across Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio, the first young cheeses of spring are traditionally enjoyed with delicate new fava or broad beans; I’m more inclined just to pull it apart and dot the cheese through a rocket and basil salad with fresh figs, a drizzle of honey and a little olive oil.
The more mature the pecorino, the sharper and more pronounced its flavour gets, so you can be more robust with your flavour pairings as it runs from half-aged (semistagionato) to fully aged (stagionato), when the cheese is at its saltiest and most intense. I like to eat mature pecorino just as it is, but it probably makes most sense grated or shaved over all sorts of dishes: sweet, sharp and creamy flavours all work well.”

Now I know that pecorino is not all created equal. I’d welcome the opportunity to taste test a full range of pecorino at all stages of maturity. Wouldn’t that be fun! For the time being, I can only dream of the possibility of travel and food sampling. However, no one would be unhappy to have a white pizza with crispy potato and a creamy salty pecorino spread on the base.

White sauce ingredients: mascarpone, pecorino, sage, lemon zest and anchovy

Print Recipe

White Pizza with Potato, Anchovy and Sage

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH:
200g strong white bread flour, plus a little extra for dusting
1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
Salt and black pepper
120ml lukewarm water
FOR THE TOPPING:
180g new potatoes, finely sliced (unpeeled) on a mandolin
3 tbsp olive oil
200g mascarpone
40g pecorino, finely shaved
4 anchovies, finely chopped
8 sage leaves, finely chopped
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons (2 tsp)
50g spring onions, trimmed and sliced thinly at an angle

Instructions

Put the flour and yeast in a large bowl with a tablespoon of oil and half a teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine, then pour in the water and use a spatula to bring the mixture together until combined.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled worktop and, with lightly oiled hands, knead for five minutes, until soft and elastic. (You may need to add a little more oil if the dough starts to stick to the surface.) Divide the dough in half and transfer both pieces to a large oven tray lined with greaseproof paper, spaced well apart. Cover with a clean and slightly damp tea towel, then leave to rise in a warm place for 40 minutes. The dough should almost double in size.

Heat the oven to its highest setting, 250°C or 500°F: you want it red hot.

While the dough is rising, get on with the topping. In a small bowl, toss the potato slices with a tablespoon of oil, an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Transfer the potatoes to a large oven tray lined with greaseproof paper – the tray needs to be big enough for the slices to lie flat and spaced apart – then roast for seven minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the mascarpone, pecorino, anchovies, sage and lemon zest with a good grind of pepper.

Grease two large oven trays with olive oil, and lightly flour a work surface. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into two 30cm x 20cm rectangles, then carefully transfer to each of the trays.

Spread the mascarpone mix evenly over both pizza bases, leaving a 2cm border around the edges. Sprinkle the spring onions on top, then add a layer of potatoes. Drizzle a tablespoon of oil over each pizza and bake for nine minutes (switch the pizzas around halfway through, so they both get a turn at the top of the oven), until the edges are crisp and golden. Scatter with a generous grind of pepper and serve warm.