Margherita Pizza

A few weeks ago the kids and I went to the library and I stumbled upon a children's book, Pizza for the Queen. It was a cute little story about a pizza man who had been asked to make pizza for the queen. He wanted to make her pizzas that were true to the taste of the town and in the process invented a new pizza: Pizza Margherita. Named after the the queen, Queen Margherita. It was a really cute story and the best part of it all....it's true! So, at the end of the book, the author included a recipe for Pizza Margherita and I just had to try it.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 pkg. yeast or 2 1/4 t.

1 t. sugar

3/4 c. warm water

2 c. + more flour

1/2 t. salt

1/8 c. OR 2 T. olive oil

Pizza:

1 t. extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, halved

4 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 c. fat free mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 t. balsamic vinegar

1/2 bunch fresh basil, chopped

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

Recipe:

Dough:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water.

2. Mix the flour, salt, and olive oil together in a mixing bowl.

3. Put the flour mixture on a pastry board. Create a well in the center of the flour mixtures. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and begin forming the dough with your hands. *

4. Knead the dough until it is smooth and can be stretched. Add more warm water if necessary. If the dough seems sticky, add a little more flour.

5. Roll the dough into a ball and cover it with a towel. Let is rise for about 1 1/2 hours.

6. When done rising, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and stretch the dough into a pizza shell and place on a pizza pan or stone.

Pizza:

1. Brush the pizza shell with about 1/2-1 t. of olive oil and run your crust with the cut sides of the garlic.

2. Arrange tomato slices over crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border and sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly throughout.

3. Bake at 500 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

4. Sprinkle hot pizza with chopped basil, salt and pepper and, if desired, drizzle the balsamic vinegar on top.

*I actually did all of the dough mixing in my mixer and it turned out really well.

Rating: 4 of 5

Admittedly, this is not the BEST Margherita pizza I've ever had, but it is delicious. I actually liked it better the second day rather than fresh out of the oven. I'm assuming it has to do with the fact that the basil flavor melded over during the night. I loved the crust. Nice and thin, but still so soft. One thing I love about pizzas is that the tomatoes get hot and soft which completely changes their taste to me. Love it. Really, you can taste every element in this pizza. I am a Margherita pizza lover though.

Sources:

Crust: Pizza for the Queen by Nancy Castaldo

Topping: Eat Yourself Skinny!, Margherita Pizza