The Best of Fine Cooking — Real Italian 2017

main dishes

Flavored with a little oregano, this is a pizza lover’s

dream pie, especially when made with perfectly

ripe, local summer tomatoes. Goat cheese adds to

the fresh feel of the pizza. Yields two 10- to 11-inch

pizzas; serves 4

Flour for the peel

2 8-oz. balls pizza dough (homemade

or store-bought) at room temperature

4 to 6 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

6 Tbs. minced garlic

11/2 cups coarsely grated mozzarella

2 medium ripe tomatoes, sliced

between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick

Flaky sea salt

3 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled

1 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

or Grana Padano

2 pinches of dried oregano

Put a pizza stone on the lowest rack of the oven, heat

the oven to 550°f, and let the stone heat for at least

30 minutes.

Lightly flour a pizza peel. Stretch one dough ball into a

10- to 11-inch round and transfer it to the peel. Brush the

dough with oil and sprinkle with half of the garlic. Top with

half of the mozzarella and enough tomato slices to cover

most of the surface in a single layer. Season very lightly

with salt. Top the tomatoes with half of the goat cheese

and Parmigiano or Grana Padano. Drizzle with another

1 Tbs. of the oil and sprinkle with a pinch of oregano.

Slide the dough onto the hot stone and bake until the

cheese is melted and the crust is nicely browned, about

8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. Repeat to make the

second pizza.

fresh tomato and garlic pizza

56 REAL ITALIAn 2017