Israeli-born British chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes are famed for using a blend of everyday and unique ingredients to achieve flavour-packed, tantalising dishes that just so happen to be vegetable-centric. His mushroom “ragu” is no exception, blending fresh and dried mushrooms with carrots, tomatoes, and a concoction of marinades to create something that’s inexplicably meaty — without any meat at all.

We’ve taken direct inspiration from the Mushroom Ragu recipe in his book Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook and adapted it for cooking in your Ooni pizza oven. Not only does it make a delicious pasta sauce, it builds a standout base for a hearty ragu pizza. Add cream and arugula as toppings, and you’ve got a balanced pizza that’s great for quick weeknight dinners but also impressive for a weekend date night. It’s a bonus that the pizza is entirely plant-based, but if you’d prefer a bit of dairy, full-fat cream and grated pecorino romano will work in place of the vegetarian cream we’ve suggested below.

Notes: This recipe makes enough sauce for 4 pizzas, but you can reserve anything left over for use in pasta or rice dishes. We used plant-based cream to top this vegan pizza; however, you can choose a full milk cream if you prefer.