Monday 29 July 2013

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.


30 comments:

  1. Very enticing! Lovely colors!

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  2. Wow, homemade pizza is always the best. Love the toppings

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  3. Mich, your pizza looks so pretty and delicious! Only serves 4? Next time please make more, so I can come over :D

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  4. I just thought about making pizza today. Your pizza looks delicious!

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  5. What a great idea to use pesto as a base. I can just imagine how tasty these are.

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  6. Looks Great! A very healthy and tasty pizza indeed!

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  7. This looks amazing! Love the addition of fresh basil leaves on top!

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  8. Hi Mich! Homemade pizza is the best! I promised my kids to make them pizza last weekend but didn't happen as we went out most of the time & when we got home, too tire! If they see Aunty Mich's pizza, I'm sure they would like me to make for them!

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  9. Mich, your pizza sounds very healthy, I hope to have a try!

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  10. Must be so satisfying to make your own pizza. On my to do list! This one looks like a winner - very tasty!

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  11. Hi Mich,
    WOW, your pizza looks so good! I can almost smell it from here! Haha! I would like to order two extra-large please! One is definitely not enough!

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  12. Mich, your pizza looks scrumptious!!! Nothing compares to warm just baked pizza

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  13. Delicious pizza!
    It has all my favorite ingredients
    It's after 1am here, and I'm craving a slice now...

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  14. Awesome pizza Mich...I love the sound of this dough...chewy! The pizza topping is the way I like simple and elegant.
    Have a great week my dear :D

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  15. Hi Mich,

    Strangely, I find that pizza is very expensive to eat in Singapore and they are usually not very good. Lucky for your family, you can bake these beautiful homemade pizza for them.

    Zoe

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  16. I too love pesto as pizza sauce! Your pizza looks scrumptious!

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  17. i love it especially thin and crispy..

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  18. Yum. Gotta love pizza! This looks amazing!

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  19. love the flavors for this pizza, the pesto sauce sounds good!

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  20. this pizza look absolutely good and delicious Mich!

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  21. This looks so very good. I love using pesto instead of the traditional red sauce too. Thank you for sharing. Now I'm craving pizza for dinner!

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  22. I love making and eating homemade pizza. I like that you made your pizza with pesto for a diffrent twist.

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  23. Yum, yum .... I love your pizza.

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  24. ya,homemade pizza always the best, and we can add many toppings as well ^_^

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  25. Yummy homemade pizza & love the crust too. I don't buy any ready made pizza anymore since I've made my own. And my sons love to do thier own topping. Alot of everything, if you ask me!!! LOL

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  26. Mich , the pesto on its own is worth making !

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  27. I haven't had pizza for a while and your homemade pizza totally made my mouth water. Love the flavor - a great pizza is always welcomed in my house!

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  28. Hi Mich, your pizza look delicious. So well baked, I always love homemade pizza cos can put in more ingredients and cheese. :)

    Best regards.

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  29. is very fond of this article because it gives a lot of inspiration thanks
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