This may be the most wonderful thing I’ve ever tasted!
| Ingredients: | ||
| 1 | Pizza Dough | |
| 1/2 | Head | Garlic |
| 2.5 | Pounds | Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese |
| 1 | Recipe | Basil Pesto |
| 1-2 | Pizza (depends on size) | Red, Ripe Tomato(s), sliced 1/4″ thick |
| 1/4 | Bunch | Fresh Basil |
Equipment Needed
- Heavy Pizza Stone
- Mortar and Pestle
Prep
- Place the oven rack as close to the bottom as possible. Place the pizza stone on the rack and preheat to 550°F for at least an hour.
Garlic Oil
- Take the cloves from 1/2 head of garlic and peel them. Remove the hard ends, any green interior parts and any discolored parts.
- Grind in a mortar and pestle along with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt until completely liquefied (you may need to add a little more salt to do this).
- Add approximately 1/2 cup of olive oil, mix and taste
- If it’s too salty, add more oil, if it’s not salty enough, adjust to taste
- Pour into a small covered jar and refrigerate until needed
Cooking
- Generously sprinkle corn meal on a Pizza Peel, stretch dough in your hands, then gently place on the peel
- Lay down a layer of Mozzarella, then arrange the tomatoes in a single layer over the top.
- Scatter some basil leaves over the top
- Using your fingers or a brush, sprinkle drops of the garlic-oil all over the top of the pizza.
- Do not add the pesto at this time. It’s too delicate to withstand the heat.
- Shake the peel back and forth to make sure the pizza is free enough to slide off the peel.
- Slide the pizza off the peel, onto the hot stone and bake until the crust is light brown and the cheese has just started to brown. This shouldn’t be cooked as much as a pizza with tomato sauce because the garlic is delicate and will easily burn and become bitter.
- When you remove the pizza from the oven, let it cool for a minute, then sprinkle pesto over the surface.
Notes
- Store the extra garlic oil in the refrigerator in a glass jar with a lid
- Store the extra pesto in the refrigerator in a glass jar with a lid. Before refrigerating, gently pour a thin layer of olive oil on the top of the pesto. It will keep it from discoloring due to contact air.
- If the pizza sticks to the peel you can rescue it by sliding dental floss between the dough and the peel while a friend tosses extra corn meal under it. Or if you feel bold, just fold it over and call it a “giant calzone” and claim you planned it that way 😎
1/4 of a pie, not including the pesto is 14.75 Weight Watchers Points Plus