No holds should be barred and no stone left unturned when it comes to searching out delicious and unexpected new pizza toppings. For this one, I simply took the ingredients from the lovely salad on the previous page and reinterpreted them in pizza form. It’s a winner.
Makes 3 pizzas, each serving 2–3
1 quantity pizza dough (here)
3 smoked mackerel fillets (about 200g in total), skin removed
About 200g cooked, peeled beetroot (here, or use vacuum-packed, but not pickled!)
3–4 shallots, very thinly sliced into rings
Extra virgin olive oil to trickle
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the horseradish dressing
1½ tablespoons horseradish sauce
3 tablespoons plain wholemilk yoghurt
A squeeze of lemon juice
Prepare the dough and leave to rise as described here. Preheat the oven to 250oC/Gas 9, if it goes that high, or at least 220oC/Gas 7. Put a baking sheet in to warm up.
Tip the risen dough out on to a lightly floured surface and deflate with your fingers. Leave it to rest for a few minutes, then cut it into three. Roll out one piece as thinly as you can. Scatter a peel (pizza shovel), if you have one, or another flat baking sheet with a little flour (or polenta) and place the dough base on it.
Flake the smoked mackerel into large pieces, checking for any small bones. Slice the beetroot thickly. Toss the shallot rings with a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange a third of the mackerel and beetroot over the pizza base and scatter a third of the shallot rings on top.
Slide the pizza on to the hot baking sheet in the oven (for a really crisp crust). Alternatively, simply lay the baking sheet on the hot one in the oven (to avoid the tricky pizza transfer). Cook the pizza in the hot oven for 10–12 minutes until crisp and golden. Repeat with the remaining dough and topping.
Meanwhile, for the dressing, whisk the horseradish and yoghurt together with a squeeze of lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Trickle the sauce over the pizzas, then trickle over a little more extra virgin olive oil. Serve straight away, with a crisp green salad.