White Pizza with Roasted Tomatoes

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WhitePizzaTom

We’re big fans of white pizza around here. For those of you who aren’t in the know – tomato sauce is omitted and replaced by olive oil and garlic. Then the pizza is topped with tomatoes, spinach, broccoli rabe, or whatever floats your boat – then sprinkled with mozzarella and baked. Usually, I slice fresh plum or Jersey tomatoes for my white pies, but since I had no fresh on hand, I substituted canned whole tomatoes. Slow roasting the tomatoes with garlic and olive oil intensifies the flavor, and makes a magnificent pizza!

Tomatoes&Garlic

  • 1 – 28 ounce can of whole plum tomatoes
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • fresh basil
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 300º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Drain tomatoes and slice in half, arrange cut side up on baking sheet. Add garlic cloves and scatter finely chopped basil over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 1 hour.

3. If done ahead of time, store tomatoes in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Tomatoes&Garlic2

For the Crust:

  • 1 packet of yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2/3 cup warm water
  • 1 2/3 cups flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil (plus more for the pan)
  • olive oil
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced fine or pushed through a garlic press

1. Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water, let stand until foamy about 5 to 10 minutes.

2. In a food processor using a metal blade, add flour and salt to the bowl and turn on machine. Slowly add yeast mixture and process for one minute. Add the oil and process for another minute.

3. Roll dough out onto a floured surface into a 15 inch circle. Transfer dough to an oiled pizza pan or baking tray. Let it rest for 30 minutes to give the dough a chance to rise a little. A speedier technique is to preheat your oven to 200º, place the pan in the oven and turn off the heat, leave it in there for 15 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 425º, place pizza dough on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool a bit. Using a pastry brush (or your fingers) rub olive oil on the surface of the crust, followed by the minced garlic. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese and roasted tomatoes on top and return to oven for another 15 to 17 minutes until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown.

 

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2 Responses to White Pizza with Roasted Tomatoes

  1. OId NFO says:

    Sounds good, and I don’t LIKE pizza… 🙂

  2. Tina says:

    I have NEVER heard anyone say that before. We need to talk.

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