This margherita pizza recipe is a celebration of easy, recent elements! Juicy tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese high a crisp, chewy crust.
I consider margherita pizza because the heartier cousin of Caprese salad, with a crisp, chewy crust supporting the scrumptious trio of tomatoes, basil, and recent mozzarella. You’ll discover this basic pizza on the menu of any Neapolitan pizza joint, however you may also make a very nice do-it-yourself model. This margherita pizza recipe is right here to show it!
What’s Margherita Pizza?
Margherita pizza hails from Naples, Italy. It options three iconic toppings:
- San Marzano tomatoes
- Contemporary mozzarella cheese
- Basil leaves
Based on Marcella Hazan’s cookbook Necessities of Traditional Italian Cooking, the pizza was first made for Italy’s Queen Margherita when she visited Naples within the late nineteenth century. The pink, white, and inexperienced toppings had been patriotic, as they embellished the pizza with the colours of the Italian flag.
Margherita Pizza Components
My largest tip for making margherita pizza is to use one of the best elements you could find.
As a result of this basic dish is so easy, the standard of every element counts.
Right here’s what you’ll want:
- Pizza dough, after all! We make our personal with this pizza dough recipe. It’s straightforward to make with elements like flour, water, and yeast, and it yields a chewy, scrumptious pizza crust. In fact, store-bought recent pizza dough works right here too.
- Canned entire tomatoes – You don’t want recent tomatoes to make a terrific margherita pizza. As a substitute, you’ll pulse good-quality canned tomatoes right into a no-cook do-it-yourself pizza sauce with olive oil, garlic, and salt. San Marzano tomatoes, a candy number of Italian plum tomatoes, are conventional right here. Use them for those who can!
- Contemporary mozzarella cheese – The right wealthy counterpart to the tomatoes and basil. Reduce it into skinny slices or tear it earlier than topping the pizza.
- Contemporary basil – Its recent taste takes this pizza excessive! You’ll sprinkle it over the pizza after baking in order that it doesn’t wilt within the oven.
- Pink pepper flakes – They add a kick of warmth.
- And additional-virgin olive oil – For wealthy, fruity taste.
Discover the whole recipe with measurements beneath.
Find out how to Make Margherita Pizza
Step one on this margherita pizza recipe is making ready the tomato sauce.
Place the canned tomatoes and their juices, olive oil, garlic, and salt in a meals processor. Mix till clean.
Subsequent, stretch the dough. Don’t fear for those who don’t have any fancy pizza-making gear like a pizza peel or pizza stone. A baking sheet works completely for this recipe!
Mud it with cornmeal and stretch the dough into a big oval.
Then, add the toppings. Unfold a heaping 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce over the pizza dough, leaving a 1-inch border across the edges.
This recipe makes additional pizza sauce! Retailer leftover sauce in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as per week, or freeze it for as much as 3 months.
- Tip: I prefer to freeze small parts of the sauce in order that I can simply thaw sufficient for one pizza at a time.
Prime with the mozzarella…
…and bake! Switch the pizza to a 500°F oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or till the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown.
Take away the pizza from the oven and high it with the recent basil leaves, pink pepper flakes, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Slice and serve. That’s it!
Serving Recommendations
My favourite solution to serve a margherita pizza is with a salad on the facet. It goes properly with any of those recipes:
Get pleasure from!
Extra Do-it-yourself Pizza Recipes
In case you love this recipe, attempt one among these do-it-yourself pizzas subsequent:
Craving extra Italian classics? Do this eggplant caponata, eggplant Parmesan, or spaghetti aglio e olio recipe.
Margherita Pizza
Serves 3 to 4
This do-it-yourself margherita pizza is very easy and scrumptious! My largest tip for this recipe is to make use of good-quality elements like recent basil and sauce made with San Marzano tomatoes. As a result of the recipe is so easy, you may actually style the distinction.
Stop your display screen from going darkish
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Preheat the oven to 500°F.
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In a meals processor, place the tomatoes and their juices, olive oil, garlic, and salt. Course of till clean.
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Mud a baking sheet with cornmeal. Place the pizza dough on the baking sheet and stretch it into a big oval.
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Unfold a heaping ½ cup of the tomato sauce* evenly over the pizza dough, leaving a 1-inch border across the edges.
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Prime with the mozzarella and switch to the new oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or till the crust is browned.
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Take away from the oven and high with recent basil and pinches of pink pepper flakes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
*Retailer leftover pizza sauce in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as per week, or freeze it for as much as 3 months.
