Margherita Pizza

I hate tomatoes. So why do I eat at least 2 tomatoes a day? I don't really know. I could drink tomato sauce and salsa. I constantly crave tomato mozzarella paninis from CM. All soups are better with tomato-based broths. And my pot roast wouldn't be complete without simmering in a can of whole tomatoes. But raw, eaten like a peach? No way. I'm embarrassed by my taste buds. I have this hatred toward fruits mixed with cream. Yuk. Or cooking fruits, like in a pie. It's so wrong. To me it makes perfect sense. But it sure limits my dessert options. Maybe that's why I overdo it on the chocolate.

Anyways, margherita pizzas are simple pizzas. Crust, tomato, cheese, basil. I made it last week as a follow-up dinner to seafood fest for Father's Day. When I went to CM, they were featuring home-grown Texas tomatoes. I honestly don't know why people love home-grown tomatoes, but my mom always made sure she told me when someone gave her some. And my dad would always make them disappear before I could see them. I decided to buy them for the pizza, along with this cheesy flat bread they make. It was awesome! So BJ asked me to make it again. This time I made my own crust. And I got another one of those crazy home-grown tomatoes. And that's it! So easy, it doesn't even need a recipe. But if you still need something to print out, follow this:

Pizza crust
tomatoes (I had one medium sized one)
Half a bunch of basil
FRESH mozzarella (mine was a little smaller than my fist)
Extra toppings: garlic, parsley, thyme, parmesan, feta, tomato sauce

Slice the tomatoes pretty thin, mine were about 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Place them spaced out on the crust. Slice the cheese in about the same size shapes as the tomatoes. This is optional, I think it just turns out prettier. Place them in between the tomatoes, and on top. I added some dried thyme (my favorite spice). Cook for recommended time at recommended temperature. Mine was set at 425 on an already-heated pizza stone. Since I had fresh dough, it took about 20 minutes. Take out from the oven and sprinkle on basil. No need to cook it, the oil from the cheese cooks it just enough.

My hands still smell like olive oil and basil. :)



I just love my dried thyme! And those are the extra slices of tomatoes I had. I try not to overload my thin crust pizzas.




After 5 minutes. Starting to melt beautifully. I tried not to hold the oven too long and melt your camera babe!




I like to rotate it halfway through because the back of my oven gets hotter than the front.




Fin!