What Katie Ate

The photography in Katie Davie’s debut book, What Katie Ate is enough to get you salivating. And it’s no surprise really, a freelance photographer who regularly contributes to Delicious Magazine, she knows her stuff.   After years of art directing, travelling and shooting Katie has complied over 100 simple and elegant recipes with the most mouth watering accompanying images. I want to make and eat all of them. Seriously. So why not start tonight with her Salsa Verde, Semi Dried Tomato and Labna Pizza…

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Pizza base

• 12/3 cups (250 g) ‘00’ flour
• small pinch caster sugar
• small pinch salt
• 30 ml olive oil
• 11/4 teaspoons instant dried yeast

Topping

• 3 tablespoons labna
• 3 tablespoons drained semi-dried tomatoes
• pinch dried chilli flakes
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil mint and basil leaves, to garnish
• freshly ground black pepper

Salsa Verde

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed
• 3 tablespoons baby gherkins (cornichons)
• 1 long green chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced
• large handful each flat-leaf parsley leaves, basil leaves and mint leaves
• 2 white anchovies (optional)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) olive oil
• ¼ cup (40g) pine nuts

Makes   2   x   28   cm   pizzas

GET MAKING

To make  the pizza base, sift the flour into a  large  mixing bowl. Make a  well in the centre and  add  the remaining ingredients,  along with 1/2  cup  (125 ml) water. Whisk  them  together gently with a  spoon or a  fork, gradually incorporating the flour. Using clean hands, bring the mixture together to form  a  dough, then transfer to a  well-floured  worktop.Knead firmly for 5  minutes, stretching  the dough as you  go. Place the dough  back in the bowl, cover with a  clean, damp tea towel and  leave in a  warm place to rise for 1  hour or until doubled in size.

Turn  the dough  out onto a  floured worktop and  cut in half,  then roll  each piece into a  round about 28  cm in diameter (this dough  is super-elastic and  generally very easy to work  with, so  it makes  an incredibly thin pizza base). Transfer the bases to oiled trays or pizza stones.

Preheat the oven to 200C fan-fored. To  make  the salsa verde, place all  the ingredients in a  food processor  and  whizz to a  thick, creamy paste,  then spread a tablespoon or two over each pizza  base. Tear the labna into  small pieces and  dot over the bases,  followed by  the semi-dried tomatoes and  chilli flakes. Cook  in the oven for  15–20  minutes until the pizza base is cooked through and crispy.

While  the pizza is cooking, stir the 1/2   cup  (125 ml)  extra virgin olive oil into the remaining salsa  verde to make it more  pourable. Remove the pizzas from  the oven, scatter with the mint and  basil leaves and  season with black pepper. Drizzle over the remaining salsa  verde and  serve immediately.

For more great recipes you can pop into our Sydney or Adelaide showrooms to pick up a copy of What Katie Ate, and don’t forget to check out her blog too, it’s gorgeous.