Pizza Margherita
Some of the best things in life are the simplest.
Makes two 12
Preparation: 1 hour for the pizza dough (Cuisinart recipe, p. 33);
20 minutes plus 12 minutes baking and resting time.
1 | recipe pizza dough (p. 33) | 2/3 | cup (170ml) simple tomato sauce (p.41), |
6 | ounces (170g) fresh mozzarella, well |
| reduced version for pizza |
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| chilled | 1 | tablespoon (15ml) extra virgin olive oil |
18 | fresh basil leaves, washed and dried |
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Prepare the pizza dough and let rise. Position the top rack of the oven about 8 inches (20cm) from the top. If using a baking stone, place it on the rack. Preheat the oven to 500° F (260°C).
Insert the shredding disc. Use medium pressure to shred the mozzarella. Remove and reserve. Stack 12 basil leaves; roll, then use a knife to thinly slice. Repeat with the remaining leaves. This is called a chiffonade. Reserve.
When the dough has risen, punch down and divide into 2 or 4 equal balls. Let rest 10 minutes. Roll the dough out to size. Place on a baker’s peel that has been sprinkled with cornmeal, or on a perforated pizza pan, a pizza screen or baking sheet without sides that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Brush edges with the olive oil. Using an offset spatula, spread 1/2 cup (125ml) of the reduced Simple Tomato Sauce evenly over each
Carefully slide the pizza onto the stone (position the peel over the back edge of the stone, and use a rocking motion to shake and slide the pizza off the peel onto the stone), or place the pan into the hot oven. Bake the pizza for 5 minutes, then rotate it front to back for even baking. Bake for another 3 to 6 minutes, until the pizza is bubbly, and the edges of the dough are golden brown, puffed and crispy. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the remaining fresh basil chiffonade, and let rest on a rack for 2 to 3 minutes before slicing.
Nutritional analysis per serving:
Calories 313 (from fat 28%) • pro 12g • carbo 44g • fat 9g
sat. fat 4g • chol. 22mg • sod. 727mg • fiber 2g
40
