Garden Fresh Sliced Tomato Pizza Recipe
Gorgeous and Simple Way to Highlight Fabulous Tomatoes
Sometimes the simplest approach is the best when preparing excellent, fresh produce. Allowing their color, flavor, texture and taste to shine through will reflect well on your reputation as a cook, too. This recipe is part pizza, part pissaladiere, and will gain the cook complements and requests for seconds.
The southern French Pissaladiere is sometimes made with a pizza-type crust, and sometimes with a rich pastry crust. Pissaladiere usually includes sauteed onions, garlic, olives, and anchovy. In the recipe below, the onions help form the base of the dish, and a simple pizza crust is used. The anchovy are optional.
Save your most gorgeous ripe tomatoes for this pie: red, orange, yellow, or a combination. Feel free to use different types of cheese, but don’t increase the total quantity. The point here is to allow the taste of the tomatoes and herbs to shine through, rather than having them swamped by melted cheese.
This is wonderful served with a salad on the side as a lunch or a light supper (serves 4). It can also be cut in smaller pieces to be served as an hors d'oeuvre, or as an appetizer (serves 8).
Garden Fresh Tomato Pizza
- 2 Tbs olive oil, plus small amount to grease the pan
- 1 cup quartered and thinly sliced yellow, white, or red onion
- 1 lb uncooked pizza or bread dough, whole wheat or regular
- 3 Tbs shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
- 3 Tbs shredded romano or parmesan cheese
- 3 Tbs crumbled soft goat cheese, or blue cheese
- 2 large fresh, high-quality tomatoes
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn or roughly chopped
- 6-8 good quality anchovies
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Lightly grease an 11”x13” rectangular cookie sheet with the olive oil.
- In a medium-sized sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion in the oil for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. The onion should become soft and slightly browned. Set aside.
- Roll out the pizza dough until it fits the pan, using flour as needed on the rolling surface, the surface of the dough, your hands, and the rolling pin. Fold the dough in thirds, and quickly transfer it to the prepared pan, unfolding the dough to fit. The sides do not have to be even or reach all edges of the pan.
- Sprinkle the dough in the pan evenly with the mozzarella and romano or parmesan cheese, keeping it and all other toppings 1/2” from the edges of the dough. Sprinkle the sautéed onions on top of the cheese. Next, sprinkle the goat or blue cheese over the onions. Then sprinkle the basil leaves over the cheeses and onions.
- Carefully and attractively arrange the sliced tomatoes to cover the cheeses. Top with the anchovies if using them, and then finish with ground black pepper to taste.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes in the top third of the oven. Pizza is done when nicely browned both on the exposed crust and on the bottom (carefully lift a corner of the pizza to check the color of the bottom of the crust).
- Cool a few minutes before cutting into 8 pieces, or as desired.
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