Margarita Pizza

One of the loveliest things about summer is having fresh basil right outside my door.  I jumped the gun a little in the spring and bought some of those healthy "green house" basil plants at Lowe's, (knowing full well it was too early), along with all my other fresh herbs and then sure enough we had a cold night...and that was the end of the basil.  Everything else survived just fine, but basil is delicate.

After waiting a few weeks, I replanted and now I have a number of nice healthy plants.  In order to have basil all summer, I have to keep trimming it back constantly, otherwise it gets tall and lanky and wants to go to seed.  Constant trimming is a good thing though, allowing me to keep a glass of fresh basil in water on my kitchen counter and use it in all kinds of ways.  Later in the season, I will make pesto for the freezer, but now I'm using it in salads, on sandwiches and on pizza.

Being the pizza fan that I am, I would like most any kind you could set before me.  Veggie, meat lovers, cheese lovers, you name it- I like it.  But in the summer, I don't really need more than tomatoes, cheese and basil.  That combination is known as the Margarita pizza, thus named for the queen consort of Italy, Margarita of Savoy. The colors represent the Italian flag and custom has it that it originated in Naples.  I had the great opportunity of eating this pizza in Naples a few years ago and doubt seriously if I could ever replicate that taste.  But when I bite into this pizza, it reminds me of that time and makes me long to return.  In fact, one of the things on my bucket list is to rent a house in the middle of Italy and take excursions north and south,  eating my way from the top of Italy to the heel of the boot. Doesn't that sound fun?  Maybe one day.  For now I'll indulge here at home in Margarita pizza, as long as the basil holds out.

I start out with a good pizza dough, rising in the bowl.

Then I make a fresh pizza sauce that's simple and delicious.  I begin with whole tomatoes, processed in the food processor.  To a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat, I add crushed garlic, until the house smells like an Italian bistro and then add the pureed tomatoes, oregano, a little salt and sugar.  While this is cooking down on the stove and thickening a little,

I press out the dough and get ready to top it with the magic ingredients;

fresh tomato sauce, basil and mozzerella.

First I spread out the sauce,

 and then scatter the basil leaves and pieces of mozzarella.  You might be wondering if you can use the shredded cheese in the plastic bags from the store, and of course you could, but it won't taste authentic by any means.  This pizza really needs fresh mozzarella. 

And for good measure, I cover the top with freshly grated parmesan reggiano.  That's always a good thing, right?   Now it's ready to pop into a hot oven and in a few minutes it will be time to eat.

While I wait, I package the remainder of the pizza dough to put into the freezer for another time.  Making double portions and freezing one is a nice gift to give yourself.  I love having frozen dough ready to pull out on a busy day.

Now there's just enough time to throw together a quick salad and dinner's served.

You can see this pizza has a nice thick crust.  I make it that way because someone I love thinks that's the best part.

Pizza Dough

2 cups warm water

5 t. instant yeast ( I like SAF)

5 - 5 1/2 cups unbleached flour 

2 t. sugar

2 t. salt

4 T. olive oil

Place water in bowl.  Add oil, sugar, salt, flour and then yeast.  

Mix and knead 5 minutes.  Form into a ball and place in a greased

bowl, turning dough to grease all sides.  Put in warm place, covered

with a towel to rise for about 40- 60 minutes, until doubled.  Keep an
eye on the dough, because it make take less time than that. Instant yeast
is an amazing thing!   Punch dough down and let rest for a couple minutes.
 Spread onto greased pizza pan or cornmeal dusted baking stone.

Makes 2 large pizzas

Pizza Sauce

3 T. olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large can whole tomatoes, processed until smooth

1 t. sugar

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/4 t. salt

Heat oil over medium heat.  Cook garlic, stirring constantly so it doesn't 

burn- about 1 minute.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about

30 minutes or until thickened.  This sauce also doubles and freezes well.