Ricotta and Cherry Tomato Pizza

Ricotta and Cherry Tomato Pizza

In a recipe from Todd English's Rustic Pizza, by Todd English and Heather Rodino, the combination of ricotta and cherry tomatoes gives a marvelous freshness to this pizza, which is infused with two kinds of basil flavor—basil oil and fresh basil. When using the basil oil, be careful to keep a good lip on the crust to avoid the oil spilling over and scorching the baking stone.

Use your favorite recipe for the pizza dough or buy a couple of balls of dough at your local pizza parlor or grocery market.

 

Ingredients

Directions

  1. One hour before baking, place a baking stone in the oven and preheat it to 500°F (450°F for gluten-free crusts).
  2. Roll out 1 pizza round as thinly as possible and place it on a pizza peel sprinkled with flour. Leaving an outer lip all around the edge of the dough, cover the surface with half the garlic: season with salt and pepper.
  3. Evenly spread half the basil oil on the dough. Top with half the mozzarella and dot with half the ricotta. Evenly distribute half the tomatoes on top, then sprinkle with half the Parmesan.
  4. Shake the peel lightly and slide the pizza onto the hot baking stone. Bake until browned, 6 to 7 minutes (10 to 14 minutes for gluten-free crusts).
  5. Transfer the pizza to a firm surface and cut it into slices. Serve immediately, garnished with half the basil.
  6. Repeat all the steps using the second dough round.

Basil Oil

This basil-infused oil comes together in just a few minutes. Use it as a finishing oil, or add a tablespoon or two to one of the tomato sauces for instant fresh basil flavor.  Makes about 1½ cups.

1 small clove garlic, minced
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor, pulse together the garlic and basil until the ingredients are chopped. Add the oil, salt, and pepper and process until the mixture is smooth.

Copyright © 2017 by Todd English and Heather Rodino, photography by Allan Penn.  Reprinted by permission of Castle Point Books.

 

Category

Tags

PizzaItalianCookbooks

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