I’m going to change things up a bit today and share on of my favorite go-to dinner recipes – Margherita pizza. I’ve shared snapshots of my pizza on Instagram and Facebook and I always get requests for the recipe. It’s really simple, but here it is…
I became a vegetarian almost two years ago and that changed my regular rotation of dinners. Pizza, Margherita pizza, specifically, quickly became a favorite for me. It’s filling, it’s ooey-gooey comfort food and it’s quick. Now, we’re not talking takeout or freezer pizza. I know there are good ones out there, but I prefer to make food with fresh, whole ingredients as much as possible. I think it just tastes better.
I’ve tried a lot of variations and this is the recipe I came up with…
Since the ingredients are very simple, it’s important that they are high quality. Now, I’ve hated tomatoes all of my life. I think they are mealy and bland. I’ll eat them well disguised in things, but I always had my BLT’s without the T (in my pre-vegetarian days) and don’t think I’ve ever eaten a plate of spaghetti with sauce. Give me some butter and salt and I’m set. I’m coming to realize, though, that I had probably never tried a really good, fresh tomato. That is a totally different story and I’ve come to like a nice, fresh tomato as the “sauce” for my Margherita pizza recipe.
I have planted a tomato bush, but until it produces, I’m getting them from our local farm stand. Check out this beauty.
I slice it thinly and spread it out over the pizza crust. I like using an organic, flatbread pizza crust I can get at our local grocery store.
I then spray the entire thing with some organic olive oil and sprinkle it with garlic powder and a little bit of salt.
The garlic and oil are especially yummy on the crust and the salt brightens the flavor of the tomatoes in the Margherita pizza recipe.
Sprinkle it with some fresh basil. The fresh stuff is amazing and totally different from the dried.
I have also learned that fresh mozzarella cheese is entirely different than the shredded stuff. It is less greasy and the flavor is mild and creamy. I buy the rolled up sheets, usually, and slice them into squares. Lastly, I add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. You probably guessed it, fresh parm. Again, it’s totally different than parm from a can. The pre-shredded in the bag is okay, but I prefer to buy a small block from the deli and use a veggie peeler to get chunky strands off the block.
I always make my Marghertia pizza on parchment paper, then preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a pizza stone in it. Once the oven reaches temperature, I’ll slide the parchment (with the pizza on it) onto the hot stone. This gets the crust crispy. Allow it to cook for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is brown & bubbly. I eat mine with a generous helping of fresh, raw arugula. That stuff is peppery and crispy and so yummy on pizza.
It takes about five minutes to make and ten minutes to cook. That’s a winner in my book!
We had it with some spinach salad, which is just baby spinach, sliced strawberries and slivered almonds. We top it with a drizzle of Brianna’s poppyseed dressing.
Just to keep it real, I wanted to show what was going on around the photo shoot for the Margherita pizza recipe post…
Thanks for keepin’ it real. 🙂 And of course it looks yummy. I have done just the tomatoes instead of sauce quite often. I had tired of my husbands sauce and it was a refreshing change.
Thanks for the reality check…I love all the ingredients on your pizza. My granddaughter is 14 and doesn’t like tomatoes. You give me hope she will one day love the wonderful vegetable.
What an easy and great dinner idea for summer evenings on the patio. Love your blog and your products.
Joyously,
Betty @ My Cozy Corner
You are cracking me up! Tomato bush! Parm in a can! LOL
When I read the first part about the mealy tomato, I was going to comment that a tomato shouldn’t taste that way! Then I saw where you had not eaten fresh tomatoes before. Now you see my problem. There are so many veggies/fruits that I do not like canned, etc. That’s because we always had a garden (my parents and grandparents) and had fresh veggies. My mom and grandmother canned – everything from green beans to soups, to tomato sauce, etc. To this day, I cannot and will not eat a can of green beans. I just can’t do it. I don’t care what you do to them, they taste awful. I make and freeze pasta sauce. It tastes so much better! Also use my own sauce for tomato based soups, stews, etc.
And definitely blocks of cheese, freshly grated. Basil is easy to grow and so nice to have in the kitchen window – right there where needed! Try spinach on pizza – it’s yummy!
tina
I was that way with fish. We always caught them and ate them that day, so the taste was mild and never fishy. I tried getting fish from the grocery store years ago and it tasted terrible. I was spoiled, I think!
I ate a lot of canned fruits and veggies growing up, but I agree with you now. I love the fresh stuff when it’s in season.
Looks great! Now try homemade poppy seed dressing instead of from a bottle. You will fall off your chair!
Yes, I should! I haven’t gotten into making my own dressings, but I know it’s really simple.
Nothing like homemade pizza, with freshly grated cheeses! I make mine loaded with veggies, etc. and homemade dough. My thing is that I make 3 large pans of it when we all get together, so it takes so much time. It is worth it because we all love it! I will try your version, since I love fresh tomatoes and basil and both are growing in backyard! Thanks Marion, you do such a good job here!
Marian — at your new property you might like to build a pizza oven. Check out the blog “The Art Of Doing Stuff”. She’s doing a series on this. Looks like a fun family project.
Oh gosh, it all looks fantastic. I never liked tomatoes before either. I’ve only started enjoying fresh tomatoes on something like this the past year or so. (I’m 49! ) We do our spinach salad just like this, except usually with Raspberry Balsamic dressing.
Anyway, thanks for the yummy idea!
Jeanette
I just had a margharita pizza from a local restaurant and they drizzled Balsamic Vinegar on it, otherwise the same ingredients you mention. Try it next time, it is SOOOOO good!!
Oh I LOVE tomato, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella pizza! My fave! Basil is amazing fresh – I’ve added it to my water or the lemonade/peppermint/tea I make!
My favorite part of this post was the last picture where you are showing what is really going on in the background of your shoot! Love that!
Hehe, the dreaded loom bands!! The craze is here in New Zealand too and my kitchen table looks exactly the same (minus the pizza!). Oddly enough, it is my son that loves the loom bands. 🙂
yum! I fell in love with the strawberry spinach combo when a babysitter made it when I was probably 8 yrs. old. So good!
This looks yummy! Can you tell us more about the crust you used? Is it found in the freezer section or bread aisle of your store? Is it ready to use out of the package? Thanks, Marian.
If I can find a good gluten-free crust, I will have to try this recipe when our CSA tomatoes start coming in.
By the way, I LOVE tomatoes! When I was growing up in Europe, my mom would buy 5 lbs of fresh tomatoes at the nearby farmers market every couple of days, and we would eat them all (we had a family of 4) either plain with a bit of salt on top, or in a big tomato salad made of chopped tomatoes with cucumbers, scallions, salt, and sunflower oil. That made the best ever meal on hot summer days.
Glutino makes a gluten free pizza crust mix that is way better than any other I’ve tried. But a box makes two large crusts, so I have to freeze one.
Arugula is easy to grow and self seeds, so more next year.
And the cheese can be a grated hard cheese, if you have to avoid dairy.
At least the fresh tomatoes are still on my plate! If I can keep the deer from eating the plants.
I’ve never had a 21st century tomato as tasty as those from the 1960s. Anyone who has a variety that compares, please share info.
Loom bands in the background lol.
This pizza seems like the perfect Summer meal! And I completely love how there are many variations. I grow 24 (gasp!) different kinds of tomatoes and cannot wait to try them on a fresh homemade pizza! ~Ashley http://shehimthem.wordpress.com/
Now you need to try the Heirloom variety of tomatoes. They are my favorite!
Thanks so much for sharing the recipe with us. It sounds awesome and you can’t beat it for healthy eating and a short cooking/prep time.
Sharon
One of our family favorites! I made this on Saturday for dinner. To kick it up a notch, I drizzle a little “traditional” balsamic from oliverde on mine. It’s amazing! Cooking fresh is the best!
I grew up in so. cal. When I was a kid,we could walk anywhere and pick whatever you wanted to eat fresh off the trees….EVERYWHERE! Your neighbors had trees. The orange groves and strawberry fields….fantastic..fresh corn,cherries,avocado, figs,peaches,lemons…it didn’t matter…Now…A big nothing…we can’t even get fresh yellow corn in so. cal. I would eat a tomato like an apple…NO salt. What is found in supermarkets today….is nothing like I ate as a kid….no more groves..darn!
I live in Naples, Italy which is the birthplace of mozzarella (made from water buffalo milk) and Margherita pizza. Of course they make it completely different here – thin crust, light tomato sauce, dots of fresh mozzarella a drizzle of olive oil and one(?) basil leaf but yours looks really yummy. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your pizza recipe, Marian. It looks great! I love the Rainbow Looms in the last picture. As someone else said, it’s my son that loves to make them! 🙂
This is a favorite with most of my family too. The key is definitely the fresh ingredients. Makes is SO yummy!
Thanks for the parchment paper tip! I love my pizza stone but like a crispy crust without the toppings getting over done. This should help. I love Iowa Girl Eats southwest pizza with barbecue sauce, roasted corn, black beans and grape tomatoes, topped with some pepper jack cheese. She used cilantro, but I like fresh basil on mine. Yummy!
My husband won’t touch a tomato, even a fresh one. But he will eat canned salsa, chilli, pizza and sphagetti sauce. He cracks me up. My adult daughter was just like him, but told me just this week that she likes tomatoes now.
I think I like all food, might be my problem.
Thanks for keeping it real!!! We love those bracelets around here, too 🙂
Does anyone have a homemade poppyseed dressing recipe they want to share??? I would love to have one! The pizza looks delish!!!
Miss Marion, have you tried pizza cooked on the grill? It’s, easy, quick and SO good! Use ripe garden tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olive oil & basil for the best taste. I googled the recipe – most likely I used Food Network’s version – it is amazing! Having a pizza peel is not necessary, but does make the transfer to/from the grill a little easier. Enjoy!
Yes, I’ve put this recipe on the grill and it’s very good as well! I have a flat cookie sheet and I used that as the pizza peel.
I’ve been wanting to make a pizza like that for some time…you gave me the push i need.
Thanks =)
This looks so delicious, Marian. And particularly inviting for a non-chef-y person like myself; I’m easily intimidated. This looks like something I could do ~ as well as a delightfully poetic piece of culinary creativity. Not a combo I find everyday!
Can’t wait to try my hand at it. 🙂