Margherita Pizza
Blistered chewy crust, bright tomato sauce, molten fresh mozzarella, torn basil. Naples in your oven.
Peek at the ingredients
Ingredients 9 ingredients
- 1 lb pizza dough (store bought or homemade)
- 1 (28 oz) can whole San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella
- Fresh basil leaves
- Cornmeal, for stretching
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
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Method
- 1
Heat the oven as hot as it goes, with a pizza stone or steel inside if you have one. Give it at least 45 minutes. This is the most important step.
- 2
Crush the tomatoes by hand in a bowl. Stir in the olive oil, garlic, and salt. That is the sauce. It needs no cooking.
- 3
On a floured surface dusted with cornmeal, stretch the dough from the center outward, pushing air to the edges for a puffy crust. Aim for about 12 inches.
- 4
Spread a thin layer of sauce, leaving a one inch border. Tear the mozzarella over the top and drizzle with olive oil.
- 5
Launch onto the hot stone or steel and bake 7 to 10 minutes, until the crust is blistered and the cheese is molten with browned spots.
- 6
Top with fresh basil, a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like heat, and serve immediately.
