Anna Jones’ squash and crispy kale pizza recipe

Pizza is a big part of my life. It’s both my and my four-year-old’s favourite food, so a lot of our meals revolve around it, and happily so.

We are lucky enough to live in a part of London where there are good sourdough pizza places every 10 steps. In pizza terms, we are spoilt rotten. My favourite, though, is at Lardo, an unassuming place in Hackney that serves pizzas to rival Napoli’s, and well thought out salads, pastas and small plates from Matthew Cranston in the kitchen.

This is my approximation of their squash, kale and smoked tomato one, which has no cheese and – I can’t believe I’m saying this – I love it all the more for it.

I haven’t gone for sourdough pizza dough here (as Lardo makes); instead I’ve used a family-friendly recipe inspired by my friend and baker Tom Herbert, using a bit of wholemeal flour. You can easily make a big batch and keep a few bases par-cooked in the freezer; after all, I never like to be more than 10 steps away from a pizza.

Easy pizza dough

I’ve written this recipe in such a way that you can make the pizza base two ways: to be topped and baked immediately, or to be par-cooked and frozen, ready to use whenever you need.

Prep 45 min
Rest 2 hr
Cook 10 min
Makes 4 bases

325g strong bread flour
125g wholemeal spelt flour
10g sea salt
5g fast-action dried yeast
285ml warm water
40ml olive oil, plus extra cooking
Semolina or extra bread flour, for dusting

I make this in a stand mixer: put all the ingredients into the bowl and put on the highest setting for 12 minutes. If you are doing this by hand, mix the wet ingredients into the dry in a bowl and, once combined, knead on a dusted surface for 15 minutes – you want a very soft and stretchy dough. Put the dough back into the mixing bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place to rest for an hour.

Tip the dough on to a clean work surface and divide into four roughly 200g portions. Make a claw with your hand around a piece of dough and, keeping your hand in contact with the table, make small, circular motions to mould each one into a tight, round ball.

Put a good glug of olive oil in a large roasting tin and roll the dough balls around, coating them with oil; this will stop them sticking together. Leave covered with a damp tea towel in a warm place to rise for an hour or so.

Turn the oven to the maximum temperature, above 230C (210C fan)/gas 8. If you have a baking stone or thick baking sheet, put it in the oven to warm. Scatter a good amount of flour on to a work surface, then, using a rolling pin, roll out the bases as thinly as you can, rotating them as you go.

If you are eating them straight away, add your preferred toppings. If you are pre-baking them for later, cook them untopped.

Carefully transfer each pizza or base to a cool, flat baking sheet dusted with flour to stop them from sticking, then shuffle on to the hot stone or baking sheet.

To par-bake the bases, cook one at a time for a couple of minutes, until they are lightly coloured. Once cool, stack with a small square of baking paper between each one and put in the freezer; they’ll also keep in the fridge for a few days. To cook from frozen, top and bake for five minutes at your hottest oven temperature (over 230C (210C fan)/gas 8) for eight to 10 minutes, until golden.

For a topped pizza, cook one at a time for five to eight minutes, until golden.

Squash and crispy kale pizza

This is a maverick of a pizza. It has a squash puree where the tomato sauce might usually be; and no cheese, but instead a topping of crispy kale, toasted nuts and tomatoes. If you find the idea of pizza without cheese a bridge too far, some soft goat’s cheese crumbled over the top at the end wouldn’t be a disaster. At Lardo, they make this with smoked tomatoes: if you can get them, use them; if not, sun-blushed tomatoes are great. If you don’t have the time or inclination to make pizza bases, I have topped naan or good, fluffy flatbread with this.

Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Makes 4

1 large butternut squash (about 1kg), peeled, deseeded and cut into roughly 2cm chunks
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped
1 good pinch dried chilli flakes
Sea salt and black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
4-6 tbsp vegetable stock
250g kale, leaves stripped
30g toasted nuts (pine nuts, chopped almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts all work)
200g sun-blushed tomatoes, cut into rough halves

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/gas 6. Make the pizza dough according to the recipe above, or using your own. Put the squash into a roasting tray, add the rosemary and chilli, then season, drizzle with olive oil and toss.

Roast for an hour, or until soft, golden and cooked through. Remove from the tray and carefully tip into a food processor. Blitz to a spreadable paste, adding a little veg stock to loosen to the consistency of tomato sauce, if need be.

While the squash is cooking, roughly tear the kale into one layer on a large tray (you may need two). Toss with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper, and roast for 10-15 minutes, until crisp. Meanwhile, roast the nuts on a tray for five minutes, or until golden, then set aside.

For each pizza, top with five tablespoons of butternut squash puree (if it has thickened on resting, loosen with more stock), spreading evenly in one layer. Transfer to the oven using the method in today’s dough recipe and bake for eight minutes.

Once cooked, top with the kale and sun-blushed tomatoes, and sprinkle with toasted nuts.