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Fresh Tomato Basil Pizza

Use homemade dough prepared in advance or use fresh dough from the store. This recipe makes two 9" thin crust pizzas

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword easy dinner recipe, easy lunch recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 2 pizzas
Author Linda Spiker

Ingredients

Pizza Dough (if made two days ahead, allow to sit on counter a ½ hour before rolling)

  • Enough pizza dough for 2 nine inch pizzas (see recipe linked above for homemade dough)
  • 1/2 cup Fresh pesto (recipe below)
  • 6-8 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • 16 oz fresh Mozzarella, packed in water thinly sliced, and pressed firmly between two paper towels to remove extra water.
  • Red pepper flakes, to taste

Basil Pesto:

  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts
  • 3 medium sized garlic cloves
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Remove prepared pizza dough from the refrigerator and place on counter for 30 minutes before using and place pizza stone in cold oven with oven rack in bottom position. Turn heat to 450 degrees and allow stone to heat for at least a half hour before placing dough on stone.

Pesto Prep:

  1. Pulse garlic in food processor.
  2. Add basil leaves, cheese, salt, pepper and pine nuts.
  3. Puree in processor, slowly adding olive oil till desired consistency. To store extra pesto simply place in s a small container, drizzle olive oil over pesto to completely cover (prevents oxidation) and cover. It will last up to a week in the fridge.

Pizza prep:

  1. After dough has rested on the counter for 30 minutes, place on a floured surface, use rolling pin to roll pizza dough into 8-9 inch pie.

  2. Place dough on pizza paddle covered with a thin layer of corn meal.
  3. The corn meal allows the pizza to slide off paddle and onto stone.
  4. Spread a thin layer of fresh basil pesto on dough leaving 1” around the edge for crust.
  5. Place sliced fresh mozzarella cheese on top of pesto and then add a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with sea salt and red pepper flakes.
  6. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until crust is crispy.
  7. Remove from oven and allow to sit for a minute before slicing. Repeat with second pizza.