For as long as I can remember, Saturday night is homemade pizza night at my parents house. In the summer we eat on the veranda, either chatting or reading books. I love this tradition. Luckily, realistic portion sizes, good quality ingredients and pairing with a salad means there is no reason to lose the pizza night. My go-to toppings are fresh ingredients from the market – locally sourced and at their freshest. Think vegetables, herbs and sprouts and maybe local goats cheese or basil for a homemade pesto. Bermy Fresh is perfect for this – delicious hummus’, pestos and an array of sprouts to top once the pizza is cooked.
For those that are gluten-free or looking for an easy, yeast-free go-to pizza base, here it is. Although you can use whichever base you want, this one is amazing! Socca is a thin, French chickpea crepe. It’s cooked on the stovetop or in the oven and is flexible in terms of added herbs and spices. Though you can cook this in the oven, I really like the crispiness from cooking it on the stovetop. You can omit the white sauce and go for pesto or tomato sauce.
‘Socca’ Pizza Base
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup + 2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. fresh or dried herbs
Good pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp. olive oil + more for the cast iron skillet
Salt and pepper
Mix together the ingredients and let sit for a few minutes. Turn on the stovetop and heat some olive oil in a big cast iron skillet on medium heat. Drop the tiniest bit of batter and see if it cooks up. If it does, the pan is ready. Pour ½ the batter, like a pancake, into the pan. With the back of the spoon, smooth it out to create a thing flatbread or crepe, though not all the way to the edges of the pan. You need room to work with it. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until crispy and cooked through. You can keep this warm in the oven or start to top the pizza with toppings.
Generally, I prepare all the toppings at a similar time, construct the pizza and warm in the oven to melt the goats cheese or heat up the white sauce. If you’re going to add on salad greens or sprouts, do this after to keep things fresh!
Toppings
Cashew white sauce (recipe below)
Bermy Fresh shiitake mushrooms, sautéed in garlic, olive oil and sea salt
Bermuda onions, sautéed in garlic, olive oil and sea salt
Zucchini, grilled
Greens, arugula or spinach
Cherry tomatoes, tossed in olive oil and sea salt and heated on the BBQ
Goats cheese
Parsley or basil
Drizzle of truffle oil or truffle honey
Cashew White Sauce
½ cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
2 tbsp. white wine
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 minced garlic
1 tsp. honey
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup water
Blend all the ingredients together.
