To me, the order of importance for a pizza goes crust, sauce, toppings/cheese.  I’m one of those people who doesn’t want a pizza drowning in cheese, but rather nice and saucy.  So for me, the sauce means a lot.  I’m also not a huge fan of tons of toppings.  A perfect margherita pizza is heaven to me, and it’s even better if you use your own vegetables and herbs from your garden (which I can do half of right now since my tomatoes have yet to ripen).

I once again go to Lidia Bastianich’s recipe from Lidia’s Italian-American cookbook for her Neapolitan pizza sauce.  It’s so simple it’s ridiculous, and it’s also incredibly tasty and season-friendly since it uses canned tomatoes and dried herbs.  Like everything in most Italian cooking, it’s about really simple food with quality ingredients, so now is the time to buy those expensive organic tomatoes, the quality dried herbs, etc, if you don’t already.  It’ll be worth it, trust me.

For toppings, I go with straight up fresh mozzarella I shred and a few basil leaves.  I love red onions like crazy so I throw a few shaved slices on half.  Toss on a drizzle of really good extra virgin olive oil and you’re set.  I don’t like a salad or meat tray on my pizza, I just want to taste the crust, sauce and cheese because I put so much effort into making them I damn well better taste them!

That said, let’s go!

Neapolitan Pizza Sauce

Based on Lidia Bastianich’s recipe from Lidia’s Italian-American cookbook

Makes about 2 cups sauce

• 1 28-ounce can peeled whole plum tomatoes, drained (the original recipe calls for a 14-oz can but I always use a 28 here)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Pulse the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor.  Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse a few times more.

Jessica’s Sort-Of Marghertia Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 prepared pizza dough recipe
• 1/2 cup Neapolitan pizza sauce
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
• A few thin slices of red onion
• 10-12 basil leaves
• Oregano
• Olive oil

Directions:

1.) Take the dough from the fridge after it’s risen and let it come to room temp, about 30-45 minutes (you can prepare the sauce while it does).

2.) Put the pizza stone in the oven and preheat at 475° F.  Never put a pizza stone in a warm oven – always bring it up to heat with the oven otherwise it will crack!  If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can use a sheet tray or pizza pan, but a pizza stone is a great tool to have in the kitchen, and I got mine for $10 at Target.  You can bake breads, rolls, and all sorts of things on them for great crust and heat distribution.

3.) Punch the dough down and stretch it out.   You can use a pin, your hands, your knuckles, whatever feels best.  I like to hold it up high and let gravity do the work by letting the weight pull it down.  Stretch it out to as thick as you want (I like a nice medium thickness) on either a pizza peel or plastic cutting board (if you’re me) dusted with cornmeal.  Rub some olive oil and sprinkle some oregano over the top.

4.) Once the oven is preheated, sprinkle some cornmeal on the stone and then slide the dough onto it.  Bake about 4 minutes until puffy and slightly toasted.  Remove, and add the sauce, then basil and onion, and then cheese (to prevent the basil from burning).

5.) Slide the pizza back into the oven and bake an additional 8-10 minutes until golden, bubbly, delicious, toasty brown.

6.) Serve hot with a nice fresh salad dressed with balsamic vinegar.

Note about pizza stone care: Let the stone completely cool, either in the oven or on a baking rack.  Scrape off the bits of leftover pizza and rinse with hot water — do NOT use soap!  Let airdry.  Don’t worry about discoloration, like a wok or cast-iron skillet, it’s seasoning the stone and only improves the performance.

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