When I start the country of Pizzalandia, this will be our flag. It has everything you would want: bold colors, char marks from battle and grease stains from a well-fed people. On the surface, this pie looks simple, two ingredients: pesto and mozzarella. But, that math is screwy. Pesto is actually a +7: olive oil, garlic, basil, nuts, parmesan, salt and pepper.
I wish I could say I made this pesto, because it is screaming good. The credit goes to local celebritante Carla Crownover. Secret ingredient? Pecans instead of pine nuts.
Standard dough recipe was used. I preheat my oven (550 degrees) for an hour to make sure that the walls, racks, floor and door are all up to temp. I learned something new this time. The counter above my oven also heats up. What’s the big deal? That was the spot I was using to rise my dough balls. They rise much faster sitting on a 90 degree counter than they do on a 70 degree one.
For good measure (and color contrast), I also made a Truffled Daisy. Can’t go wrong here: raw tomato, shaved garlic, dried oregano and mozzarella with a dressing of truffle oil.
Pizza was amazing, as always. You are a genius.
I read your pizza recipe post and it reminded me of the book Artisanal Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Have you read it?
My pizza secret is to buy organic tomato paste and spread it onto the dough straight out of the can, then sprinkle parmesan. I find that the paste gives a strong tomato taste with low moisture. The parm also helps to suck up any moisture the paste has which makes the pizza way less likely to get a soggy crust.
Whenever I have the option to choose, I ALWAYS choose pesto pizzas. Mo’ garlic = mo’ bettah. This one looks divine.