CASHEL BLUE PIZZA WITH SQUASH, PICKLED ONIONS AND RARE IRISH ROAST BEEF

4/9/18

These pizzas are particularly easy to make with dry yeast: all you have to do is wait for the dough to rise! If you don't want to go to the trouble of making your own pizza dough, you can buy it ready-made in the shops. Otherwise, baguette or cut ciabatta will do.

Serves 4 to 6 PASTA :
350 g T65 flour for dusting 7 g instant dried yeast
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
for baking sheets and final touch 225 ml warm water
2 tbsp fine semolina or white breadcrumbs

FILLING:
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 red onion, thinly sliced (ideally with a mandolin)
Olive oil, for cooking
300 g Irish rump steak
800 g squash, peeled, seeded and diced
225 g Irish blue cheese (Cashel blue), chopped
A handful of arugula
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Pour the flour, yeast and a teaspoon of salt into the bowl of a food processor (or into a bowl with a wooden spoon). Mix the oil and warm water in a jug. Mix in the flour, gradually stirring in the oil and water. You can also mix the ingredients by hand until you obtain a soft, elastic dough. Knead for 5 minutes in a food processor or 10 minutes by hand on a lightly floured work surface. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, lightly oil the surface and cover with a clean damp cloth. Leave to rise at room temperature for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Prepare the toppings: pour the sugar and vinegar into a small saucepan and bring to the boil until the sugar melts. Remove from the heat and add the red onion rings. Season to taste and set aside to allow the flavours to develop.
Heat a little olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan and cook the meat over hot heat for 5 minutes on each side until rare. Remove the meat from the heat and leave to cool on a warm plate.
Pour a little oil into the pan and fry the squash for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked but still holding its shape. Preheat the oven to 240°C. Press your fist into the dough, take it out of the bowl and knead it for a few minutes until smooth.
Divide it in half and roll out each half on a lightly floured work surface into a large, thin rectangle. Sprinkle two large, flat baking trays with fine semolina or breadcrumbs and arrange the pizza dough on top. Drizzle the dough with olive oil and scatter the squash and cheese over the pizzas. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the dough is crisp and the Cashel blue cheese has melted. Cut the meat into thin slices.
Remove the pizza from the oven and garnish with small mounds of pickled red onion. Add arugula and slices of roast beef. Transfer the pizzas to warm dishes and serve at the table.