Thursday, August 21, 2008

Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes, Feta, Mint, and Cilantro

I love pizza and I make it a lot. It's sort of a blank slate food form--start with a crust and you can put all manner of things on top. Here's my latest creation, which I have to say I was inordinately pleased with.

The tomatoes and herbs that are the highlights here came from my garden. The quality of the tomatoes is particularly important--all the more reason to use ones that are locally grown. For the record, I made this with a combination of Orange Banana and Black Cherry tomatoes.

One disclaimer: while I do make my own dough some of the time, for weeknight dinners I often rely on frozen dough balls purchased at Fosters. Off course, you can also use a Boboli or other prepared crust, though they're not exactly local. I'll share my own crust recipes another day.

1 14-inch pizza crust
olive oil
2 medium tomatoes, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup crumbled feta
3-4 oz. shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If using pizza dough (rather than pre-baked prepared crust), use a pastry brush or your fingers to paint in lightly with olive oil, then pre-bake it for about five minutes. Remove from the oven.

Spread the tomatoes over the crust. Sprinkle tomatoes with the mint, cilantro, and feta. Top with mozzarella. Bake for about 15 minutes, until cheese starts to brown.

Serves 2-4.

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