Margherita Pizza

To say that this pizza is delicious isn't the only word I would describe this pizza as.  This pizza is simple yet incredibly tasteful.  Our winter CSA continues and this week we got tomatoes.  Who could imagine getting tomatoes at the end of January and beginning of February? Well now we know better! These tomatoes are grown with geothermal energy and taste as good as the ones we get during the summer.  Check out Castle Valley Tomatoes video to learn more about how these tomatoes are grown in our own state of Utah year round. Then, we didn't have any basil left at home so we went to the Dan's to buy some fresh basil and what do we find but Farmers Daughters herbs which are grown right here in Salt Lake Valley. That was a really big surprise for us and we just laughed about it once we read the My mom and I instantly thought of making a Margherita Pizza, which simply is a pizza with tomatoes, basil, garlic, and mozzarella. Well, we didn't have any basil left so we were going to have to go to the store to buy it and likely it wouldn't be local but we really wanted to make this pizza.  So off we go to Dan's to buy the basil and to our surprise, they are selling fresh herbs from Farmers Daughters Herbs grown right here in Salt Lake Valley. Check out their website. It is full of information and recipes for herbs.

This pizza is a  really fast meal and an easy one to make too, so don't be afraid to try it.  It will thrill your taste buds and make you feel like it is summer again!  I hope you enjoy it! 

P.S. I must add that in our winter CSA we got pistachios.  It was simply amazing to find out that those delicious nuts can be grown right here in Hurricane, Utah.  I was very excited and told all of my friends who weren't quite as excited as I,  but now I know I can eat pistachios and not feel like I am cheating!

You should also check out the Harmons Grocery Store website since they partner with local growers like Castle Valley and sell these tomatoes in their stores. Just click on Great People then local partners to learn more. They even talk about selling the pistachios from Hurricane, Utah. I never knew that before!

Ingredients:

Pizza dough recipe:

2 tsp. dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
 3 & 1/2 cups flour (we use freshly ground)
1/4 cup semolina flour (freshly ground durum wheat)
1 tsp. Redmond sea salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Stir yeast and lukewarm water together in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 semolina flour. Let sit about 30 minutes or until bubbly.
2.  Combine remaining flour and salt in another bowl. Add to the yeast mixture with the cold water and olive oil and mix to make a soft dough. Place dough in Kitchen Aid mixer and, using bread paddle, mix on low-medium speed for 10 minutes or knead with hands until smooth and elastic.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in volume, about 1-2 hours. Punch dough down and let rise another 45 minutes.
4. Divide dough into 2 discs and let rest for 30 minutes before shaping.  Using pizza peel, shape dough into 10 inch round. Recipes makes 2-10 inch pizzas. Dough can be frozen after first rising for later use.

For pizza:

Dough above
1 tbl. extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped (Utah Farms CSA)
4-6 large basil leaves, cut into strips (Farmers Daughter Herbs)
2-3 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced (Utah Farms CSA)
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (Gossner Cheese)
2 tbls. grated parmesan cheese plus additional for taste (Gold Creek Farms)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place pizza stone in oven.
2. Spread olive oil over pizza dough with a brush and spread the finely chopped garlic evenly on the crust.
3. Spread the mozzarella cheese over the crust evenly.
4. Place thinly sliced tomatoes across the pizza and then season with salt and pepper.
5. Spread the basil strips evenly across the pizza and sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese across the top
6. Slide prepared pizza from pizza peel onto to heated pizza stone in the preheated oven.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottom is a nice brown and cheese is melted.