Sweet Potato, Ricotta and Pomegranate Pizza
You guys. I've really outdone myself with this one. From the melt in your mouth sweet potatoes and pillowy ricotta to the crispy crust and crunchy pomegranate seeds to the contrast of the strong thyme with the sweet honey...this recipe is just perfection.
With this week’s recipe, I wanted to make a stupid easy winter meal that would also look and taste a little bougie. I'll admit that the “stupid easy” factor got a little lost when I decided to make dough from scratch, so if you're not a dough freak like me feel free to buy pre-made pizza dough. Other than the dough, the prep for this pizza only involves roasting some sweet potatoes and mixing some flavor into ricotta. It's super simple to make and definitely delivers on flavor.
Let me know in the comments what you think of the recipe and don't forget to follow the sustainability tips below!
Makes: 2 pizzas
Serves: 6 people
Time: 2 hours
Ingredients
Dough
(courtesy of Donal Skehan)
A little over 2 cups (250 grams) bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup, plus 1 tablespoon water
2 ¼ teaspoon (7 grams, 1 packet) rapid or fast rising yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
About 3 tablespoons semolina flour
Toppings
900g (about 4 medium) sweet potatoes
12 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons chopped thyme, plus more for garnish
2 teaspoons honey, plus more for garnish
Salt to taste
Olive oil
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
Steps
Dough it
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment or a large bowl, whisk together bread flour and salt. In a smaller bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together water, yeast, oil and sugar until sugar has dissolved. Knead on low speed (or stir with a wooden spoon) while slowly adding the liquid mixture. Continuing mixing until dough forms a shaggy mass.
If using a stand mixer, turn the speed to medium-low and knead for 5 minutes, or until dough is elastic and springy. If not using a stand mixer, knead dough on clean counter top for about 10 minutes. Once the dough is nice and springy, form it into a taught ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rest for 50 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Top It
While the dough is resting, preheat oven to 425 F. Peel and chop your sweet potatoes into 1 centimeter thick rounds and toss them with a touch of olive oil and salt. Arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, or until cooked through and starting to brown.
While you sweet potatoes are roasting, place a baking stone in the oven on a separate rack to preheat for your pizzas. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, thyme, 2 teaspoons honey and salt to taste and set aside in the refrigerator.
Put it all together
After your sweet potatoes are done roasting, turn up the oven to 500 F. Punch down on the risen dough to release air and then split it in half. Working with one half at a time, stretch and roll the dough as thin as you can into a large circle, or whatever shape your heart desires.
Transfer the dough to the preheated baking stone, dusted with semolina flour. Drizzle dough with olive oil, arrange half the sweet potatoes on top, dollop with half the ricotta mixture and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and ricotta is just beginning to brown. Drizzle with olive oil and honey and top with pomegranate seeds. Repeat with other half of dough and dig in!
Sustainability Tips
Flour: I like to use King Arthur brand flour because King Arthur is a B Corp! This just means they're held to a really high environmental and social standard. Read more in my post about B Corps!
Oil: Buying fair trade and organic olive oil is your best bet. Read all about it in my sustainable oils post!
Ricotta: Since ricotta comes from cows, which are just terrible for the environment, make sure you buy your ricotta from a brand you trust. I like to buy dairy from B Corps because I know they're held to a high environmental standard.
Sweet potatoes and Pomegranate: Make these pizzas when potatoes and pomegranates are in season (psst, that's winter!) and try to go for locally grown and organic if you can. This will cut down on GHGs from travel and on nasty pesticides.
Honey: Local honey for the win! This way, you can ask how the bees were treated and the honey won't have to travel a million miles (read: release a million emissions) to get to you.