Ricotta and White Anchovy Flatbread with Preserved Meyer Lemon and Fresh Rosemary

Step 1

Build a very hot fire in your oven, and wait until the floor and walls achieve your target temperature.

Step 2

Flour a board and your hands with rice flour, then stretch and pull the dough (never press) into a roughly 13-inch round or oval—don’t try too hard to make it a perfect round.

Step 3

Transfer the dough circle to a long-handled wooden pizza peel liberally sprinkled with cornmeal.

Step 4

Working quickly, gently spread the ricotta over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border; season generously with salt and pepper.

Step 5

Scatter the lemon zest and rosemary evenly over the top and then arrange the anchovy filets skin side up in a circle, like the spokes of a wheel.

Step 6

Scatter with a big pinch of pepper flakes, if desired.Jiggle the dough on the peel to make sure it’s still mobile, then slide it smoothly onto the floor in the hot oven.

Step 7

Bake until the edges are golden, 1 ½ to 4 minutes, depending on your oven.

Step 8

Retrieve with a metal pizza peel, transfer to a cutting board, slice, and enjoy.

Step 9

5 large Meyer lemons, scrubbed to remove wax, and dried

Step 10

3/4 cups coarse sea salt.

Step 11

Olive oil, as needed (do not use best-quality oil for this recipe)

Step 12

Wash a large glass jar with abundant, very hot water and soap; rinse well and dry. Wash your hands well.

Step 13

Cut each lemon in quarters, but not all the way through; leave connected at the base like a flower.

Step 14

Pack 2 tablespoons of salt into the center, then squeeze back together and place in the jar.

Step 15

Continue partially quartering and packing with salt. Squeeze the lemons down into an even layer and place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top, pressing it down so it touches the top of the lemons.

Step 16

Let stand in a sunny place for one week, pressing the top of the lemons every day to compact them further.

Step 17

By the end of the week, the lemons will have flattened and be covered with a layer of juice; they are now ready to use.

Step 18

Gently pour about 1/2 inch of olive oil over the top to keep out the oxygen, and refrigerate for at least one week before using, and up to six months. When using, retrieve a lemon with clean tongs—not your fingers—and rinse well.

Step 19

Trim away and discard the remainder of the inner flesh, then chop or sliver the preserved rind as needed.