Pizza Margherita with juicy heirloom tomatoes, garden herbs and creamy burrata drizzled with balsamic glaze. All of summer's best produce one a pizza. Pair with your favorite glass of Red, it's all you need this summer!
Fun Fact: Named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, in 1889 to honor the Queen, the Neapolitan pizza maker Raffaele Esposito created the "Pizza Margherita," a pizza garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, to represent the national colors of Italy as on the Flag of Italy. The queen later sent a chamberlain to Esposito with a Royal Seal and a thank you note, which still hangs on the walls of his descendants pizzeria.
Recipe
MARGHERITA PIZZA
Ingredients
Pizza Topping:
- 2 big tomatoes
- 6-8 oz Mozzarella, or Burrata Cheese
- 5-6 tablespoon Tomato Sauce
- drizzle olive oil
- drizzle red balsamic glaze
- 8-10 basil leaves
Pizza Dough:
- Β½ cup water - warm (100 to 110Β°)
- 1 teaspoon honey - or sugar
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- ΒΌ teaspoon salt
- 1 Β½ cup all-purpose flour - plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoon coarse- grain cornmeal - for dusting (optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil - plus more for bowl
Red Balsamic Vinegar Glaze:
- Β½ cup red balsamic vinegar
Instructions
To make the pizza dough:
- Heat the oven to 450Β°F, with a pizza stone or steel placed on middle oven rack for at least 20 minutes.1. Pour warm water into a bowl. Add yeast and honey. Using a fork, stir the mixture until yeast is dissolved. Let yeast stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a food processor, combine flour and salt, pulse three to four times. Add yeast mixture and olive oil. Pulse until the dough comes together, adding more flour if needed. Dough needs to be smooth, not tacky when squeezed. Transfer to with flour dusted work surface; knead five to six turns into a ball.2. Brush the inside of a medium bowl with a little bit of olive oil, and place the dough in the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and place into a warm spot until doubled in size, ca. 45 minutes.3. Remove platic wrap, press your fist into the center of the dough to puch it down. Fold the dough back onto itself about five times. Turn dough over, folded side down, cover with plastic wrap, and return to warm spot for a second rising, about 30 minutes.4. Lightly flour a clean surface, place the dough on top, pat into a flattened circle, then using your fingers and begin to flatten and push the dough evenly out from the center.5. Sprinkle cornmeal all over the surface of a pizza peel. Lift the dough off the surface, and center it on top of your fists. Carefully begin to rotate and stretch the dough until the dough is several inches larger. Make sure that the dough does not get too thin or tear in the center. 6. Arrange the pizza dough on top of the cornmeal dusted pizza peel. Pour 8-10 tablespoons marinara sauce onto the dough. Using the back of a tablespoon, evenly spred the sauce leaving a half- inch border of dough uncovered. Slize tomatoes and arrange on top of the sauce. Season tomates wit salt and pepper. Place fresh mozzarella, or burrata in the middle of pizza.7. Lift the pizza peel and slide pizza onto hot pizza stone. Bake until the crust turns golden brown and crisp on the edges, about 15-18 minutes. 8. Add fresh basil leaves, and drizzle red balsamic glaze over. Serve immediately.
To make the Glaze:
- Place balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and cook over medium low heat until the vinegar has reduced to at least half of the original amount, about 15 minutes.
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