Fire & Slice published by Ryland Peters & Small (£9.99) Photography © Ryland Peters & Small
‘Nduja & Black Olive Tapenade Pizzette
The name ‘tapenade’ comes from the Provençal word tapena meaning ‘capers’ and is a thick sauce or spread made from capers, garlic and anchovies
This recipe adds rich dark olives and charred sweet (bell) pepper for a more intense, smoky flavour that is delicious with fiery ’nduja. Spread the rest on focaccia or add more oil for a dipping sauce.
Makes
12 MINI PIZZETTE, 7 CM/3 INCHES
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 recipe Basic Pizza Dough, making just 1 ball of dough
- 1 small sweet red pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, skins on
- 2–3 tbsp salted capers
- 225g black wrinkly olives, pitted
- 12 boneless anchovy fillets
- about 150 ml mild olive oil
- freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
- 45ml chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 250–300g ’nduja
- 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
- extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
- fresh oregano, to garnish
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
- a round cookie cutter, 7 cm/ 3 inches (optional)
- a pizza peel
Method
- Preheat your pizza oven to 500C (932F). Liberally dust your pizza peel with flour.
- First make the tapenade. Put the whole (bell) pepper and garlic cloves under a hot grill and grill for about 15 minutes, turning until completely charred all over. Cool, rub off the skin (do not wash) and remove the stalk and seeds from the pepper. Peel the skin off the garlic. Rinse the capers and drain. Put all these in a food processor with the olives and anchovies and process until roughly chopped. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil until you have a fairly smooth dark paste (process less if you prefer it rougher). Season with lemon juice and black pepper. Stir in the parsley. Store in a jar, covered with a layer of olive oil to exclude the air, for up to one month.
- Uncover the dough, punch out the air and roll, or pull, very thinly on a well-floured surface. Using an upturned glass or a cookie cutter, stamp out twelve seven centimetre / three inch circles and lay on the pizza peel.
- Spread the pizzette with a little black olive tapenade and top with one heaped teaspoon of ’nduja. Push in halved cherry tomatoes then brush with olive oil. Season if necessary. Working quickly, slide the pizza peel into your pizza oven. Bake for 90 seconds. Remove from the oven, and serve immediately with oregano.
