Homemade Pizza With Mozzarella, Cherry Tomatoes And Pesto

There is nothing more satisfying than serving freshly baked pizzas at home, made from scratch with wholesome and healthy ingredients - my kids love pizzas and I'd rather make an effort to do this at home than feed them those from fast food outlets. 

Pizzas with the regular tomato base gets rather boring at times and this simple pesto pizza from Curtis Stone is a refreshing change from the usual. 

Pesto made from fresh basil leaves, pine Parmesan cheese nuts and form the base of this pizza which is the topped with roasted cherry tomatoes, loads of cheese and more basil leaves. The pizza is aromatic from the use of herbs and so delicious!

Homemade pizza with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and pesto (Serves 4)

A Curtis Stone Recipe

Roasted tomatoes:

• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Pesto:

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 bunches fresh basil leaves (about 1 1/2 cups lightly packed)
• 1/3 c. pine nuts, toasted
• 1/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Pizzas:

• all-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 recipe for Chewy Pizza Crust (I used this half quantity of this pizza dough recipe)
• 6 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
• 4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c. fresh basil leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

To roast tomatoes:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C - but I baked at around 220 degrees C). Lay tomatoes on a stainless steel or non-aluminum baking sheet and drizzle lightly with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes in oven until they are tender and begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

To make pesto:

• Using a Bump and Grind or another large mortar and pestle, smash garlic into a coarse puree. Add basil and pound until it is coarsely chopped. Add pine nuts and smash to break them up. Mix in Parmesan cheese. Slowly mix in olive oil. Season pesto to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

To prepare pizzas:

• Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees F (I baked at 220 degrees C). Prepare 1 recipe for Chewy Pizza Crust and divide dough in half. Using half the dough, form a thin, irregularly-shaped disk that is about 10 inches in diameter. Place on a heavy baking sheet.
• Spread 1/4 cup of pesto sauce in a thin layer over pizza dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge. Arrange half of roasted tomatoes over pizza. Tear mozzarella into long stringy pieces and scatter half of them over pizza. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese over pizza.
• Bake pizza for about 12 minutes or until bottom is crisp and deep golden brown and cheese has melted and becomes pale golden on top.
• Slide pizza off of baking sheet and onto a cutting board. Scatter half of basil leaves over pizza. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Using a pizza wheel or large sharp knife, cut pizza into pieces and serve. Repeat to make a second pizza.

This post is linked to Cook Like A Star, where this month's featured chef is Curtis Stone, an event organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids together with co-hosts, Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Grace from Life Can Be Simple.