Garden Herb Pizza

1.  Make the base in a bowl mix together 150ml of freshly boiled water and 225ml of cold tap water. Stir in the instant yeast and set aside for a couple of minutes until the mixture starts to froth.

2. Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and pour the yeast mixture into it. Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to form. Continue mixing by hand until the dough comes together in a ball. Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead with both hands for about 10 minutes, until it is firm and stretchy. Return the dough to the bowl. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for around 2 hours or until doubled in size. 

3. To make the sauce heat 1tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and gently fry the garlic for 2 minutes until soft but not coloured. Add the tomatoes and juice to the pan and break up with a spoon, stir in the sugar, basil leaves and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes until the mixture has thickened slightly. Set aside to cool.

4. Prepare toppings. Thinly slice courgette then place in a large bowl and drizzle over 2 tbsp of olive oil, toss together until well coated. Heat a griddle pan to high and cook the courgette in batches for 1-2 minutes on each side until soft and starting to char. Set aside to cool. 

5. Tear the mozzarella into small pieces and gently pat off any excess liquid with kitchen paper. Set aside. 

6. Make the herb drizzle. Place the remaining olive oil, 2 tbsp of oil from the artichoke jar, 1 small clove of garlic, lemon juice and zest and the soft herb selection in a food processor and pulse together until finely chopped. Transfer to a bottle or small jug and set aside to infuse.  

7. When the dough has roughly doubled in size, divide it into 4 equal sized pieces. Place each piece of dough in a separate bowl or tray, cover and leave to rise for another 30-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.  

8. Fire up your Ooni pizza oven. Aim for 370˚C on the stone baking board inside.

9. Build you pizza Start with a perfectly round ball of dough - this will ensure a perfectly round pizza. Place the ball on a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and use your fingertips to press the dough into a small, flat disc. Working from the centre, push the dough outwards while spreading your fingers, making the disc slightly bigger. Pick up the pizza dough and gently pinch it all around the edge, allowing gravity to pull it downwards into a circle. You should be able to see through the base when you hold it up to the light, but take care when doing this – you don’t want it to tear.  

10. Once the pizza dough is fully stretched, lightly flour your pizza peel and lay the base on it. If at this point you see any small holes in the dough, gently pinch them back together. Spread a little sauce over the base with the back of a spoon, scatter over the mozzarella and top with the courgette slices, artichoke hearts, black olives, sun blushed tomatoes and a pinch of chilli flakes.  

11.  Cooking with gas. Launch the pizza and turn the gas off. Bake until the base takes on a good colour (roughly 4 minutes, turning halfway). Once the base is done, turn the gas to medium or high (depending on your preference of crispness) and cook for another minute or two, turning regularly until the crust is crisp and golden brown.  

Cooking with wood or charcoal. When the fire dies down, launch the pizza and close the chimney baffle to kill the combustion, this will allow the base to cook through without overcooking the top. Bake until the base has a good colour (4 minutes, turning halfway). Once the base is done, add more fuel and open the chimney baffle to increase the flame. Bake for a further 1 to 2 minutes in the higher heat, turning regularly, to achieve a crisp and golden brown crust. 

11. Transfer the pizza to a serving plate and scatter over some rocket and parmesan. Finish with a drizzle of the herb oil and serve immediately. Repeat with the remaining bases and toppings.Cooking with gas. Launch the pizza