Wheat-free pizza with oven-roasted vegetables and pesto

Categories: June, Wheat-free

Ingredients

• 1 aubergine
• 1 courgette
• 2 small red onions
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 350ml fresh gluten-free tomato sauce
• 4 tbsp fresh pesto
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 10g dried active yeast
• 175g rice flour, plus extra for dusting
• 75g potato flour
• 50g tapioca flour
• 25g dried milk
• 1 1/2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1 tsp xanthum gum
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 egg, preferably free-range

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/fan 180˚C/gas 6. Prepare the vegetables: cut the aubergine in 1cm chunks, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain for 15 minutes. Rinse to remove the excess salt and pat dry with kitchen paper. Cut the courgette and red onions into 1cm chunks. Halve the red and yellow peppers, remove the seeds carefully, cut into quarters and then into 1cm chunks. Put the vegetables into a bowl, drizzle with the olive oil and freshly ground black pepper. Toss to coat.

2. Arrange the vegetables as a single layer on 2 baking sheets and roast for about 40 minutes until golden and crispy. Sprinkle on a little salt towards the end of cooking.

3. Meanwhile, make the pizza bases. Dissolve the sugar in 150ml of lukewarm water in a small bowl and stir in the dried yeast. Sit the bowl for a few minutes in a warm place to allow the yeast to start to work. After about 7-8 minutes it will have a creamy, slightly frothy appearance.

4. Place the rice flour, potato flour, tapioca flour, dried milk, gluten-free baking powder, xanthum gum and 1 teaspoon of salt into the bowl of a food mixer. Using the K-blade attachment, thoroughly mix the dry ingredients together.

5. In a small bowl, whisk together the sunflower oil and egg and stir into the dry ingredients on a low speed.

6. When the yeast mixture is ready, stir then pour it with 50ml lukewarm water into the mixer bowl. Mix the liquid through the contents of the bowl. Continue to mix for 3-4 minutes, until a smooth dough is produced.

7. Transfer the dough to a rice-floured work surface. The dough will be slightly sticky, so it helps if you put a little rice flour on your hands too. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, each weighing about 150g.

8. Place a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray. Transfer 1 piece of dough to the baking tray and, using the ‘heel’ of your hand, flatten it to form a circle measuring 20cm in diameter. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of dough.

9. Cover the dough circles with a clean tea towel and allow them to rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes. Then transfer the baking sheets to the oven and bake in two batches for 8-10 minutes.

10. Remove from the oven and spread each base with tomato sauce. Top with roasted vegetables and bake for a further 10-15 minutes, until hot, bubbly and cooked through. Drizzle each with a little pesto. Serve immediately with a good green salad.

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