Baked Bacon and Ricotta Pizza Fritta Napoletana

Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat.

Once hot, add the bacon lardons. Stir-fry until golden, 4-5 mins.  IMPORTANT: Wash your hands and equipment after handling raw meat. Cook bacon thoroughly.

While the bacon fries, boil a full kettle. Zest and halve the lemon.

Once cooked, transfer the lardons to a medium bowl. 

Pop the spinach into a sieve in your sink. Pour over the boiling water from your kettle until wilted and piping hot. Once wilted, with the back of a spoon, squeeze out all of the excess water.

Allow the spinach to cool slightly, 5 mins. Pop the cooled, drained spinach onto a board and roughly chop into small pieces. 

Add the spinach, ricotta, a pinch of lemon zest, pesto, and two thirds of the Parmigiano Reggiano to the bacon bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Sprinkle a little flour on a clean worktop and roll the dough (see ingredients for amount) into a large rectangle, approximately ½ cm thick.

Slice the dough into equal-sized rectangles (2 per person). Pop the rectangles onto a lined baking tray. 

Spoon the spinach and ricotta filling onto one half of each rectangle, leaving a 1cm border around the edges. Lightly dampen the edges with water, then fold the other half of the dough over the filling to seal shut.

Use a fork to gently press down along the three open edges, sealing the parcel tightly. Brush the top of each pizza parcel with a bit of oil and sprinkle over the remaining Parmigiano Reggiano.

Bake your pizza frittas on the top shelf of your oven until the pastry is golden, 12-16 mins. Turn the tray halfway through.

Meanwhile, halve the baby plum tomatoes.

In a large bowl, combine half the lemon juice with the sugar and olive oil for the dressing (see pantry for both amounts). Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and stir to mix well. 

In a small bowl, combine the sun-dried tomato paste, marinara sauce and sugar for the sauce (see pantry for amount).