White Pizza with Ricotta and Rocket

No tomato. The base is olive oil and garlic; the texture comes from ricotta and mozzarella; the acid and freshness come from lemon and rocket added after the bake. One of the most satisfying pizza variations because it shows what good dough tastes like without the tomato doing the work.

This recipe assumes you have a pizza dough ball already prepared and at room temperature. Use the Margherita dough recipe.

The Base

1. Warm the olive oil in a small pan over low heat. Add the garlic cloves, thinly sliced. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until softened and fragrant but not coloured. Remove from heat and let cool. The garlic oil is your sauce.
2. If using fresh fior di latte, tear and drain on kitchen paper for 30 minutes.

Stretching and Topping

1. Stretch the dough ball to a disc of 28 to 32cm.
2. Transfer to a semolina-dusted peel.
3. Brush the garlic oil over the entire surface, including the cornicione border. Include the garlic slices, scattered evenly.
4. Distribute the mozzarella in irregular pieces across the surface.
5. Drop the ricotta in small spoonfuls across the pizza. Do not spread it: it should remain in distinct pockets that will puff and lightly colour in the oven.
6. Season the ricotta portions lightly with salt and black pepper.

Baking

High-heat oven (430 to 460°C). Bake for 60 to 90 seconds, rotating every 20 seconds. The mozzarella should be bubbling and lightly charred in places. The ricotta will puff and brown at the edges.

Home oven (250 to 280°C). Bake for 6 to 7 minutes. The mozzarella should be fully melted and golden in patches. The ricotta should have a lightly browned surface.

Finishing

Remove from the oven and immediately top with the rocket. The residual heat will wilt the rocket slightly. Zest the lemon over the entire pizza. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt and a drizzle of olive oil if needed.

Cut into 4 slices. The acid from the lemon and the peppery bite of the rocket against the rich ricotta and mozzarella are the balance. Do not leave the lemon out.

Method

White pizza lives or dies by the garlic oil. Warm 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a small pan over low heat, add two thinly sliced garlic cloves, and cook for 90 seconds to 2 minutes—you want the garlic softened and fragrant but still pale. Remove from heat and cool. This gentle infusion, not a violent fry, releases the garlic's sweetness without the burnt bitterness that will ruin the pizza. The oil is your sauce, your seasoning, your umami anchor.

Stretch the dough ball (280g) to 28–32cm diameter using the pizza-stretching technique. Transfer to a semolina-dusted peel. Brush the garlic oil over the entire surface, cornicione and all, scattering the garlic slices as you go. Tear the mozzarella (fior di latte or low-moisture) into irregular pieces—if using fresh fior di latte, drain it on kitchen paper for 30 minutes first, or the excess whey will pool and steam rather than crisp—and distribute unevenly across the base. This irregularity matters: it forces you to read the pizza as it bakes, not treat it as a formula. Drop ricotta in small spoonfuls; do not spread it. The ricotta must stay in distinct pockets so it puffs and develops those brown edges rather than melting into a flat layer. Season the ricotta lightly with flaky sea salt and black pepper.

For a pizza oven at 430–460°C, bake for 60–90 seconds, rotating every 20 seconds. You are watching for two signals: the mozzarella bubbling and charring at the edges, the ricotta puffing and browning at its peaks. For a home oven at 250–280°C, expect 6–7 minutes; the mozzarella will melt to golden patches, the ricotta to a gentle brown. The pizza-cheese will carry the pizza if the base is good, so this restraint—no sauce to hide behind—exposes weak dough.

Pull from the oven and immediately pile the wild rocket on top. The residual heat will wilt it slightly, tempering its pepper. Zest a lemon over the whole surface. The acid cuts the ricotta's richness and wakes up the garlic. A final pinch of flaky salt, then slice. Do not skip the lemon.