To make the pickled red onions, add water, white vinegar, salt and sugar to a medium-size heavy duty sauce pot; stir to dissolve.

Place the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorn and bay leaf in the middle of a small piece of cheesecloth and tie into a secure package; place in a pot and bring just to a boil, then remove from the heat.

 Pour the pickling liquid over the sliced red onions, making sure they’re all covered. Let cool, cover and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours before using. 

Tip: Pickled red onions may be made up to a week in advance, and always store quick pickled vegetables in the fridge.

To make the whipped apricot feta; add feta cheese and apricot preserves to the bowl of a food processor; mix until smooth

Season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside 

Tip: the mixture may be made up to 5 days in advance.

To make the pizza, fire up your oven, aiming for 425°C to 450°C on the centre of the baking stone. Use an infrared thermometer to quickly and accurately take the temperature of the stone.

Just before placing a dough ball on your lightly-floured work surface, turn your oven to the lowest temperature setting. Push the air from the centre out to the edge with your fingers. Stretch the dough out to form a base, being careful not to stretch too thin then lay the stretched dough over your lightly-floured pizza peel.

Top with ½ tablespoon scoops of the whipped feta with apricots, spaced about one inch apart leaving room for the crust.

Place the cubed fresh mozzarella in between the feta mixture and break the merguez sausage into small chunks while topping the pizza; finish with pickled red onions.

Slide the pizza off the peel and into the oven. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, turning the pizza and checking the bottom regularly to ensure an even bake. Adjust the flame as needed to ensure a properly crisp bottom and browned crust.

Just before the end of the bake, take your pizza out of the oven and top with the toasted pine nuts. Return the pizza to the oven for about a minute to give it a few final turns.

Remove the pizza from the oven and let rest briefly on a wire rack for about a minute. Top with chopped fresh mint, slice and serve immediately.