Part of:
Pizza
Ingredients:
- 1 ball Best Pizza Dough or Thin Crust Dough (or go to Cast Iron Pizza, Sheet Pan Pizza, or Pizza Oven Dough)
- Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting
- 1 small garlic clove (1/2 medium)
- 15 ounces crushed fire roasted tomatoes (or high quality organic canned tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Scant ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and 2 to 3 ounces goat cheese, in dollops)
- Parmesan cheese, for topping
- Fresh basil leaves, for garnish {
Instructions:
- Follow the Best Pizza Dough or Thin Crust Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (These takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
- Peel and cut the garlic into a few rough pieces. Place the garlic, fire roasted tomatoes, olive oil, oregano and kosher salt in a blender. Blend until fully combined. (You’ll use about 1/3 cup for the pizza; reserve the remaining sauce and refrigerate for up to 1 week.)
- When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!)
- If you’re making Thin Crust Dough, place it on a lightly floured surface and gently press it into a circle, adding a pinch of flour if it is too sticky. Then roll out the dough into a circle about 11 inches in diameter, using just enough flour on each side to keep it from sticking. If the dough starts to resist rolling, wait for a minute or two, at which point it will roll out more easily.
- Spread a thin layer of the pizza sauce over the dough, using about 1/3 cup. Add the mozzarella cheese (and if using, goat cheese or other types of cheese). Top with a thin layer of fresh grated Parmesan cheese and a few pinches of kosher salt.
- Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
- Allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before adding the basil leaves on top (whole leaves, lightly torn, or thinly sliced). Slice into pieces and serve immediately.