Tomato 'Nduja

Step 1

Score the cherry tomatoes in a cross to help loosen the skin. I’m making this recipe based on a batch of 2kg of tomatoes, which produces 2 to 3 'Nduja sausages.

Step 2

Drop the tomatoes in salted boiling water for about 1 minute or until the skin starts to separate. Best to blanch them in batches and not overcrowd the pot of water. Refresh in iced water and peel the skin off.

Step 3

Add all the blanched and peeled tomatoes to a bowl, and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and add 20g of paprika, 10g of chilli flakes (I’m using Aleppo which is quite sweet) and 10g of garlic powder. Mix well until all the tomatoes are all coated.

Step 4

Dehydrate for about 24hrs at 70C. You can use your oven, but a dehydrator will create a more even result. Once done, the tomatoes should be dry on the outside and chewy on the inside. They will shrink by about 90%, so out of the 2kg batch I’m left with 200g. Weigh the dehydrated tomatoes at this point.

Step 5

Chop the tomatoes into a coarse powder / paste in a food processor and add a third of butter (I’m using a vegan butter, and added about 70g based on the 200g batch I had after dehydrating). Good to have some texture, so don’t blend it into a soup either. A coarse paste is best to give the final Nudja some bite.

Step 6

Get your sausage casing. I’m using a vegan casing which is quite tough and has to be removed before eating, a bit like a chorizo. But it’s great to give you a good sausage shape. Tons of vegan and non-vegan options online!

Step 7

Wrap your casing around a funnel. You can use a sausage press if you have one. Quite chic although not essential.

Step 8

Fill the sausage casing with the mix. Press it through the funnel using a chunky tool, it should fill up easily. Make sure you don’t have too many air bubbles in the casing while filling it up. If you, do you can pop them with a sharp knife. Be quick to handle the 'Nduja mix at this point, you don’t want the butter to melt. Refrigerate until ready to use!

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Herbs

I'm using a mix of flat leaf parsley, oregano and dill. Pick the leaves off, dress with olive oil and salt and spread all over the pizza. Always keep herbs fresh by adding them last, once the pizza is cooked.

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Tomato Passata

I prefer to use uncooked, unflavoured tomato passata. You can substitute for chopped tomatoes if you blend them at high speed for 2 minutes. Spread a couple of tablespoons over the stretched dough before baking, and add a drizzle of olive oil and a couple of pinches of salt. Proceed with the rest of the toppings.

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Mozzarella

You don't even have to use cheese, but with the spicy 'Nduja I think this is a great match. Make sure to squeeze as much water out of the mozzarella as possible before layering onto the pizza. You can substitute for a fermented vegan cheese, or even something like a soft goat cheese. Don't overcrowd the pizza with too much Mozzarella, it will get quite watery!