Plum Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella Pizza
- All- purpose flour for dusting the pizza peel or olive oil for greasing the pizza tray or the baking sheet
- One recipe homemade dough, preferably the Olive Oil Pizza Dough ; or 1 pound purchased fresh dough or frozen dough, thawed; or one 12- to 14- inch store- bought, prebaked plain pizza crust
- 8 ounces (1⁄2 pound) fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
- 8 to 12 large basil leaves
- 3 medium plum or Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons minced oregano leaves, or parsley leaves, or marjoram leaves, or stemmed thyme leaves
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, preferably coarse kosher salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:
Rather than using tomato sauce as with a Pizza Margherita , this pie calls for fresh tomatoes. Oblong plum tomatoes, also known as Roma tomatoes, are the best bet when summer’s far away. They’re sweeter and more fl avorful than those big, red spheres of fibrous, shaped water that appear in markets all winter long. If it’s summer and tomatoes are on the vine, feel free to substitute what ever’s fresh.
- Fresh dough on a pizza stone. Dust a pizza peel with fl our, set the dough at its center, and form the dough into a large circle by dimpling it with your fingertips.
- Pick it up and shape it by holding its edge as you gently rotate and stretch the dough until it’s about 14 inches in diameter. Set it fl oured side down on the peel.
- Fresh dough on a pizza tray or a large baking sheet. Grease one or the other with some olive oil dabbed on a paper towel. Lay the dough on either and dimple the dough with your fi ngertips—then pull and press the dough until it forms a 14- inch circle on the tray or a 12 × 7- inch irregular rectangle on the baking sheet.
- A prebaked crust. Place it on a fl oured pizza peel if you’re also using a pizza stone—or place the prebaked crust right on a pizza tray or a large baking sheet.
- Lay the sliced mozzarella evenly over the dough or crust, leaving a 1 ⁄2- inch border around its edge; then tuck in the basil leaves among the slices.
- Place the tomatoes on top, then sprinkle the minced garlic, herb, salt, and pepper evenly over the tomatoes and cheese.
- Slip the crust off the peel and onto the stone or place the pie on its tray or baking sheet in the oven or on the grill; bake or grill with the lid closed until the cheese has melted and is bubbling and the crust is fi rm and lightly browned, 16 to 18 minutes. If you’ve used fresh dough, check the pizza after about 10 minut es to pop any air bubbles that may form around the crust’s rim.
- Slip the peel back under the crust to remove from the stone or transfer the pie on its tray or baking sheet to a wire rack. Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the pizza, then cool for 5 minutes before slicing. If you want to keep the crust fairly crunchy, consider transferring the pie from the peel, tray, or baking sheet right onto the wire rack after a couple of minutes.