Fertility Pizza

Who says you can’t have a healthy pizza recipe? This version is packed with an array of fertility-boosting foods on a delicious spelt base – perfect for when you want a carb fix. Spelt is an ancient grain with a deep nutty flavour. It is rich in soluble fibre, manganese and magnesium, and protein, making it an ideal energizing grain.

2 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes + 1 hour proving
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Pizza Base

• 100ml/3½fl oz/⅓ cup plus 2 tbsp warm milk
• 7g/¼oz dried fast-acting yeast
• 200g/7oz/1⅔ cups spelt flour
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• polenta, for dusting

Tomato Sauce

• 200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup passata
• 4 sundried tomatoes
• a pinch of dried chilli flakes
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• a pinch of xylitol (optional)
• 2 tbsp chopped basil leaves
• sea salt and ground black pepper

Topping

• 2 cooked artichoke hearts, thinly sliced
• 150g/5½oz buffalo mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 4 slices of prosciutto or Parma ham, ripped up into bite-sized pieces
• 2 figs, quartered
• a drizzle of olive oil
• 1 handful of basil leaves, to serve

1. Pour the milk into a jug and sprinkle over the yeast. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Put the flour, salt and oil in a large bowl and add the milk mixture. Stir well to form a dough. Knead well for 5 minutes. Alternatively, use a mixer and process for 5 minutes.
2. Coat the inside of a bowl with a little olive oil, put the dough in the bowl and cover with cling film. Leave it to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
3. Make the tomato sauce by putting all the ingredients in a food processor and blending until smooth.
4. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Sprinkle a baking sheet with a little polenta. Turn the dough out onto the baking sheet and roll out the dough to form a rectangle or round.
5. Spread the tomato sauce over the dough base, leaving a 2.5cm/1in border. Top with the artichokes, mozzarella, prosciutto and figs. Drizzle the pizza with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the bread is crisp and golden brown and the cheese has melted. Scatter basil over the top of the pizza and serve.

This and more delicious recipes are in Zita’s best selling book Eat Yourself Pregnant.