Amatriciana pizza, gnocchi and all things tomato.

As I’m writing this, there’s a cloudy grey sky outside the window and a drizzle of rain going on. This is probably due to me changing my wardrobe and storing away my winter clothes. I was too optimistic. But I had a reason to be: we had an amazing sunny April (which is often not the case here in the South of France) and I started feeling the good season was here. An additional good sign was: red started appearing on the farmers market stalls. After a long winter of green-only vegetables, tomatoes, strawberries and cranberry beans now sprinkle the market spread. From now on I will not buy a single cauliflower or broccoli anymore. I want fresh, raw, crunchy or juicy produce on my table.

I’ve rushed to make fresh tomato sauce for my gnocchi, and simple salads with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and feta.

But the highlight of these past weeks of lunches on the terrace was a pizza with Amatriciana sauce as a topping. A slowly cooked tomato sauce with guanciale (cured pork cheek, similar to thick-cut bacon but richer and more savory) and fresh Pecorino cheese instead of mozzarella, plus a sprinkle of freshly ground pepper. I thought I had a genius idea. I was not wrong.

Let’s start from the pizza crust. I have two foolproof recipes for gluten-free pizza dough, both yeasted and sourdough, both with no gums as usual.

Sourdough version (x 2 pizza):

• 1/3 cup gluten-free active sourdough starter (130 g)